SNL Season 51 Episode 6 Review - Glenn Powell/Olivia Dean

 INTRO: Yes, still a few weeks late, I'll catch up to the new episodes soon enough. I remember this episode being quite strong (perhaps controversially?), but I suppose we'll see as we go through.

COLD OPEN:  White House Press Briefing

- I have to wonder how many of the Gen Z audience drawn in by the likes of Domingo know what C-SPAN even is.

- Ashley's doing a great job leading this cold open as Karoline Leavitt, though that feels kind of obvious.

- This just feels same-old-same-old, as well as Ashley's selling the material.

- And of course James' takes over the cold open.

- Nothing against the guy of course, and he does a great job leading cold opens, but I just cannot find "silly stand-up" Trump funny. I know some do (and these cold opens are regularly the most viewed segments of every episode), but I just don't get excited for these.

- Nothing special here, really.

RATING: 6/10

(Honestly, I would've preferred if this whole cold open was just Ashley's Karoline Leavitt. She was doing a great job leading it, and provided a nice change of pace from Trump every episode.)

MONOLOGUE: Glenn Powell

- Glenn Powell is, quite predictably, immediately coming off charming and likeable.

- A charming showcase of an old video Glenn was in. I love when hosts show off stuff from their childhood.

- I love the little section here with the UPS guy. Strangely, I remember a lot of people being weirdly hostile towards this segment.

- Nothing to write home about in this, but still solid and charming.

RATING: 6/10

SKETCH: AI Photos

- Ashley is doing a good job playing an old woman. 

- Marcello with short hair always terrifies me.

- A funny take on AI and how horrifying it can get. Seems kind of ironic now that SNL's used AI in 4 different segments, but I digress.

- Some solid pantomime from Veronika and Glenn.

- Mikey, on the other hand, makes me feel safe when he has short air.

- Some solid escalation, and I do admit to getting a cheap laugh from Mikey taking off his pants.

- I can't tell if I'm laughing at Ashley's misery or just really uncomfortable with it.

- Solid stuff, and I would probably see it as a better critique of AI if SNL hadn't implemented it so front-and-center in recent episodes. 

RATING: 6.5/10

PRE-TAPE: I Miss My Ex's Dad

- Glad to see Tommy leading a sketch, and he's perfectly cast in this country music parody.

- Ben, on the other hand...

- The reveal of the comedic conceit is fun, and gets me especially because I've seen this exact scenario play out in my life.

- A hilarious look to Glen's character.

- This song is equal parts silly and sweet, which I think the best SNL songs tend to be. (Save for most things Lonely Island.)

- Good dialogue break in the song, and a great opportunity for Glenn to show off his acting chops.

- I won't say much about there not being a cast member to play the daughter of Kenan's character.

RATING: 7.5/10

SKETCH: Sebastian Maniscalco

- I have no clue who the titular comedian is, but I remember Marcello's performance being solid enough to make up for it.

- Funnily enough, there's been a Bachelor Party and a Bachelorette Party sketch within two episodes of each other.

- Marcello's entrance alone is hilarious, and a precursor to the fun physical comedy we'll get from him in this sketch.

- The Twister joke is a great way to jump to the physical comedy, and Marcello is killing it.

- An impressive jump from Marcello! I don't know, that just kind of gets me.

- I could've done without this unnecessary, unfunny Jennifer Coolidge from Chloe. A boring way to end the sketch.

- Overall, THIS is what I assume Marcello will be really going into, now that his "loud = funny" routine has started to wear thin for a lot of people. And I'm ALL for it. 

RATING: 7.5/10

SKETCH: Norwegian Movie

- As the Jane Wickline's Update account on Twitter so elegantly put, "everytime they make Jane blonde, I get scared."

- Wow, that came and went. No notes from me, just such a boring sketch. I couldn't tell you a single thing that happened. Best I can say is, Jeremy absolutely gave my favorite performance of this sketch, which isn't saying much unfortunately.

RATING: 2/10

PRE-TAPE: MacGruber: Epstein Files

- Funny story, this is the only episode of the entire season I didn't watch live. I was fine with it, until I learned that I had in fact missed the return of my favorite recurring character, played by my favorite cast member of all time. Needless to say, MacGruber being back is VERY exciting and something I don't think anyone expected. I thank Glen Powell for asking to make this a reality.

- God, that theme song is just pure joy and adrenaline. Nothing better than having it paired with cheers from the audience.

- Chloe replacing Kristen. Okay.

- Will Forte feels so natural as MacGruber again. God I miss him.

- The Epstein Files is a fantastic concept to center a MacGruber segment on.

- Fantastic bit with MacGruber shredding the files to "hide it as teeny, tiny pieces of paper."

- And the classic explosion. Never have we been so back.

RATING: 8.5/10

SKETCH: Bob Army

- Almost immediately, I could tell this sketch was going to be divisive as hell.

- I won't waste time going through this sketch beat-by-beat. The humor isn't for me, but I know this sketch really worked for other people, and I'm glad it did. I think conversation about this show would be a lot healthier if people could fathom the idea of differing opinions. Anyways, the sketch gets a point bump out of solidarity for those who love this stuff.

RATING: 4/10

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: Olvia Dean, "Man I Need"

- N/A

WEEKEND UPDATE:

- Having recently read Colin Jost's memoir, it's hard not to picture him actively trying not to shit himself during WU.

- These Epstein jokes aren't doing much for me. I saw funnier punches scrolling through Twitter.

- I did just get a laugh from Che's bed sheet joke.

- A good laugh from that honestly dumb edit of Trump, but hey, sometimes dumb stuff like that works.

- Every time Colin tells a bad joke, I think of him saying he only wants to tell jokes he fully believes in.

- Neither a neutral nor positive note, I would like Colin Jost to stop saying 6-7.

- A laugh from Che's penny jokes. A lot of dumb jokes are really working for me, and that's just the kind of person I am.

- That Ghislaine Maxwell joke was killed by an early graphic, unfortunately.

- Really shocked to see an Update with no guests. It made this Update really blur together, but it's a neat novelty I suppose. 

RATING: 5/10

SKETCH: Taken: Airport

- Any time Andrew is made up to look like an older guy, I can't help but laugh.

- This is another "husband gets cucked" sketch, but I am still getting laughs from Andrew's performance. 

- Blegh at that fart noise.

- Good lunge from Andrew, and I feel kind of bad for not laughing much at it.

- Not as good as I remembered it being unfortunately, but still decent.

RATING: 5/10

PRE-TAPE: MacGruber: Epstein Files

- That may be the smoothest timer any bomb has had in one of these sketches?

- Good frustration from Will. I cannot praise this man enough.

- Really good bit with MacGruber adding his assistant's names to the list.

- Holy hell at MacGruber slamming the bomb against the wall to try and make it explode.

- An even better explosion ending than the last.

RATING: 9/10

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: Olivia Dean, "Let Alone The One You Love"

- N/A

SKETCH: Haircut

- I love Ashley's shy walk into frame as she preps herself.

- Also, holy hell at that haircut of course.

- Really good "near-breakdown" performance from Ashley here. 

- This sketch feels so safely "old-school SNL." A single person freaking out, a joke that continues escalating, it's great stuff, and it's what the best of the show tends to be built around.

- Love Mikey's outburst at seeing Ashley's haircut.

- Again, just a fantastic performance from Ashley. She's such a great actress, I can see her comfortably landing movie roles with these chops. First the AI Photos sketch, now this one; it's no mistake that Ashley is the breakout star this season.

- FANTASTIC reveal of "the skin square." I love the skin square.

- This would go on for ages if I listed every single bit I loved. This is such a good sketch.

- A new classic, and another fantastic showcase for Padilla in a sea of fantastic showcases.

RATING: 10/10

PRE-TAPE: MacGruber: Epstein Files

- "Monastery Control Room"

- I always love Will's ability to make you sympathize with absolutely awful characters, like MacGruber.

- Just more great stuff, I could sing this man's praises for days.

- A classic MacGruber turn. I'm so mad I didn't see this live.

- And an even better ending explosion than the previous, with MacGruber's "Deez nuts" getting cut off. God did I miss MacGruber and Will Forte.

RATING: 10/10

OVERALL THOUGHTS: A strong episode, though not as strong as I remember. Still, there's a lot of great stuff here, with only three segments I'd say I solidly disliked. Another promising episode as this season slowly finds its footing more and more, and thankfully I remember the upcoming episode (Melissa McCarthy!) being another step-up. 

As one of ten Jane Wickline fans, this was also (I believe) the least she's shown up in any episode of the season! Unfortunate for me, probably not for anyone else. 

Either way, my review for the three week old episode will be out soon! I'll see you then.

SNL Season 51 Episode 5 Review - NIkki Glaser/sombr

  

INTRO: Our first stand-up of the season! After the strong Miles Teller episode, I was very excited for this episode, hoping it'd continue the climb this cast is making as they find their stride. We'll get to if those expectations were met or not down below. Anyways, apologies for getting this review out very late, especially since I was very late to my Miles Teller review. My bad!

COLD OPEN: Oval Office Press Conference

- It's kind of fun how Dismukes and Marcello both look so... off in this open. They should not be playing the people they are, there's just so much nothing to go off of. I think a current struggle of the current SNL era is that everyone, genuinely, just looks really young. It makes their political sketches seem more like a high school's sketch project.

- Poor Jeremy, being stuck as the fainting guy after a season of little to no airtime. Thankfully, I know he gets to lead a sketch later tonight.

- And here's the expected stand-up monologue from JAJ's Trump. It's fine. It's tired and I'm bored of them, but JAJ's delivery is strong enough for me not to completely check out of it. Okay stuff.

RATING: 5/10

MONOLOGUE: Nikki Glaser

- I am not familiar with Nikki prior to this episode, so I had no clue what to expect from this monologue.

- A lot of, I hesitate to say "edgy", humor from Nikki, and I'm liking this. It's reminding me a lot of Louis C.K's monologue from Season 40. 

- This part specifically, with her nephew wanting to take a shower with her, is definitely reminding me of that monologue, but it's its own weird, twisted, kind of off-putting humor.

- Overall, a good monologue! I know a lot of people were pressed at her for joking about some fairly taboo subjects, but I thought it was fine. It did go on for a good long while though.

RATING: 6/10

SKETCH: Karaoke Night

- I heard people predicting Tommy and Nikki would be paired up tonight, and we're immediately seeing that here.

- And there's the comedic conceit of the sketch. I remember audibly groaning, "Oh, fuck off," when the siblings started singing these romantic, sexually-charged songs.

- Sarah being stuck as the trademarked "Reacting Character" feels almost like an insult. 

- It just goes on and on. This type of sketch humor, where an insane thing happens and only one person sees what's wrong with it, more than often washes over me. I just don't find it funny, especially because it's understated how hard it is to be a good straight man. (I miss Jason Sudeikis so bad.)

- Jesus Christ thankfully it's over. What a god-awful sketch.

RATING: 2/10

(Just don't do this sketch! That's my pitch to fix it. It's just so... I hesitate to say cliche, but it feels so expected. "Siblings sing raunchy song" feels like an idea from 4chan.)

PRE-TAPE: Hudsacillin

- This feels like an idea that should've been done months ago. Not to mention it's a bit too niche.

- I'm liking this commercial, despite how eh I felt about the premise. There's some funny stuff here.

- Good reveal of the medicine just making you so sick you have to cancel the show. A good punch to have in an overall okay commercial.

RATING: 5/10

SKETCH: Beauty and Mr. Beast

- Funnily enough, I remember a joke about Ben and Mr. Beast looking fairly similar going around the day before this episode aired.

- Andrew as an old man is making me laugh, perhaps uninentionally.

- A pretty ugh reveal at the conceit of the sketch, but Ben immediately bought back my favor with his delivery. A perfect imitation of the cadence Mr. Beast sues, without any of Jimmy's usual overly-shouty delivery that probably would've made this sketch just annoying.

- Those are definitely French accents Kenan and Bowen are attempting.

- A good laugh from the reviews of the movie.

- Ultimately, I feel like this sketch did all it really could with this concept, and for what it's worth, it's the best I would expect a very obvious "title came first" sketch to be. 

RATING: 6/10

PRE-TAPE: American Girl Doll XL

- It's giving me a good laugh at how defined these jawlines are.

- I love Dismukes' delivery of his first weird line.

- I'm getting really good laughs at the guy's weird lines about their American Girl dolls. (Seems obvious to say, but you know.)

- Love the sudden take-over from JAJ, just stealing the commercial from Nikki. 

- "Because it's fun, and we're in love." Stand-out line delivery in a commercial filled with amazing line deliveries. 

- Overall, a very strong commercial. Absolutely loved that. 

RATING: 8/10

SKETCH: Mechanical Bull

- Love Jane's outfit here, and it's very obvious her voice was completely shot this episode. (Weirdly, I didn't notice this during my first viewing of this episode.)

- I like Kenan's weirdo character here, even if a bit unnecessary. 

- This sketch takes a sudden, absurd twist and I absolutely LOVE it. I love when SNL does weird stuff like this, and it's a treat when we get it outside of the 10-to-1. 

- Always good to see James to get to do something fun on the show. 

- Not much to add, except to say this is just a LOAD of fun. Reminds me of the comedy music I regularly listen to on YouTube. Whether you want that on your late night sketch show is up to you, but I love this (and it's why I love a certain song in an upcoming episode.)

RATING: 7.5/10

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: sombr, "12 to 12"

- N/A

WEEKEND UPDATE: 

- This Update has been fairly middling so far, as expected for one this season. Still, I always find Update enjoyable even when they are middling. (My brain might just enjoy the sort of rapid-fire "one joke and then another" format it has.)

- Random Pete Davidson cameo. I'm definitely more excited for this than many others.

- Some good stuff from Pete here, but definitely not blowing me away.

- I know people took issue with Pete's joke here about his dad, but at the end of the day, I'm not gonna police this random guy on what he says about his own father.

- Fun, but definitely nothing memorable.

RATING: 5/10

SKETCH: Sorority Meeting

- The premise of this sketch makes me a bit worried for its execution. 

- The performances of everyone, paired with the antics of Mikey's skin mask, are really helping this originally worrying premise.

- I remember that vaping gag not working properly in the live version of this sketch, and thus resulted in a bit of breaking from Mikey.

- A good laugh from Jane's sudden outburst.

- Pretty good ending.

RATING: 7/10

ANIMATED SHORT: Brad and His Dad

- I love the very chill, slice-of-life energy this short has. 

- Absolutely love the very natural dialogue this has, and I can't even begin to recognize Mikey's voice here.

- Not much to say here, but I just really love this! Lots of good vibes and good laughs from this short.

- I know we've gotten at least one sequel sketch as I write this, but I would love to see Brad and His Dad to become a constantly recurring segment. 

RATING: 9/10

SKETCH: Pilot Announcement

- James has a perfect pilot voice.

- I love James' over sharing with the plane.

- Kam's energy is fun, and he's playing off of James well. Unfortunately, as far as I can remember, this is pretty much the last noteworthy thing he's done as of the Josh O'Connor episode. The writing may be on the wall for Kam, as far as his SNL career goes.

- I like the passengers gossiping about James' oversharing, it's got a fun energy to it.

- James' slow unraveling over these texts is really good and really makes me wish the show utilized him to the level they push Ashley. (Ignoring the slog that is the Trump cold opens, of course.)

- Weak end, but what's new.

RATING: 7/10

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: sombr, "Back To Friends"

- N/A

SKETCH: Pinwheel

- I love the look of this sketch alone. Sarah's costume in particular is just evoking a weird nostalgia I didn't know I'd feel for these Winnie-The-Pooh aesthetics.

- It's certainly a choice to cast Mikey and Jeremy together as what are presumably meant to be tethered creatures of some kind, but I'm guessing they paired them for what's coming next in the sketch.

- Speaking of Jeremy, it's nice to see him front-and-center in a sketch. As a fan of his since ~2023, I've been looking forward to him actually doing something on the show.

- Mikey and Jeremy (Jeremy, mostly) are walking that fine line between hilarious and annoying with these characters, and it is absolutely working for me. I also love the slow frustration you can see building in Nikki throughout.

- Bowen's outburst was good, though I remember liking it a lot more when I watched live.

- Holy hell, that long stumbling sentence from Jeremy was delivered with perfection. Easily one of the biggest laughs I've had all season, Jeremy is doing great with this material.

- Overall, a fantastic sketch, and a wonderful showcase for Jeremy. An absolutely stellar cast member with a stellar sketch.

RATING: 9.5/10

OVERALL THOUGHTS:  I liked this way more than I remembered liking it live. Besides a few hiccups, we got some fairly good sketches this time around, and we got a really good showcase for who will hopefully end up being a more prominent player in the coming episodes. 

While I definitely didn't like this as much as many others did (definitely not the strongest of the season), it was still a pretty good episode, and another sign the show is slowly finding its footing. I'll say it over and over until it happens, the show just needs to trim its fat and focus on what's working. Without oversaturating aforementioned "what's working", of course. 

A solid episode. No complaints here! And I know the show continues this fairly-hot streak in the next episode.

SNL Season 51 Episode 4 Review - Miles Teller/Brandi Carlile

INTRO TO REVIEW: Pre-show thoughts, to be clear with you all, I've not watched Miles Teller's previous episode. (I've been getting through SNL in chronological order starting with Season 32, and I've just now reached Season 43 Episode 4! Then filling in the blanks by watching just way too much sketches on YouTube.) So, I truthfully had 0 expectations going into this. Besides, of course, seeing Ashley Padilla dominate the stage/screen once more.

COLD OPEN: NYC Mayoral Debate

- I saw Errol Louis post about just how uncanny Kenan's look was of him, and I always like seeing people be good sports about being portrayed on SNL. Of course, it's easy when they're not just insulting you.

- Miles Teller as Cuomo is fun, and I think a lot of people expected Zohran to be played by Ramy Youssef, but I don't think anyone expected Shane Gillis to play Curtis Sliwa. I really think it should've been Jeremy as Cuomo, to give him a chance to actually do something in a sketch, but oh well.

- That being said, Jeremy has recently been killing it in promos and small, BTS sketches uploaded to SNL's social media. I hope this translates to more time on the screen for him, but that remains to be seen.

- Anyways, the actual cold open. This is good stuff! Solid jokes, great performances, the approval of my Speech & Debate coach---the things you want in a cold open. Miles Teller is doing a great job as Cuomo, and Gillis especially is killing it as Sliwa. 

- And an appearance from JAJ's Trump, because of course.

- Trump didn't entirely kill this cold open, but he definitely not doing anything special here. I did like his decent Phantom of the Opera bit, but that's about it.

RATING: 7.5/10

(Really, I would've liked this cold open to have more of a through line, like others have said. As it is, it's a good gaggle of jokes from three solid performers. Note that I had nothing to say about the sponsor jokes from Kenan's Errol Louis.)

MONOLOGUE: Miles Teller

- Miles Teller is coming off very likable here, though I have no clue how it compares to his previous monologue.

- A bit disjointed, but Miles is charismatic and really making this monologue work. Loved it!

RATING: 6/10

SKETCH: What Did I Do Last Night?

- I like the concept of this game show sketch. I never understood others saying game show sketches are "lazy," because they're often some of the best stuff the show makes.

- I'm having fun, but nothing to write home about. Really, I'm just thinking about how this feels more solid than most of what we've gotten this season.

- Stand-out bit with Ben attacking the ATM machine and pissing on it. He's absolutely killing it here.

- Another good bit with the old lady, little boy, and stop sign being the options for both who Mile's got a black eye from and who Veronika made out with.

- Overall, a really solid sketch that got me excited for the night.

RATING: 7/10

PRE-TAPE: Property Brothers

- A funny and well-done visual of Miles Teller as both Property Brothers.

- This pre-tape is doing a good job of making Trump seem like the incompetent man-child he is in real life, and it's paired really well with Mile's performance as the two Property Brothers.

- Chloe's Melania is fine, but I don't know, Chloe's performances just never really work for me. 

- A fun ending with ICE chasing the Property Brother's out of the White House so that Trump doesn't have to pay for anything.

- Overall, one of the strongest Trump pieces I think this show has done. 

RATING: 9.5/10

SKETCH: NHL Promo Shoot

- A funny reveal of the premise of this sketch.  

- Good escalation of bits, and Miles is playing this amazingly. As are Andrew and Ashley, who are a duo I think we're going to see a lot of moving forward this season.

- An especially good zinger at the end, with "Chase Kidd, right-wing, Predator." That's a good un. 

RATING: 7/10

PRE-TAPE: Gone Without A Trace

- A really good recreation of these kinds of Netflix true crime series.

- And a priceless reveal that the wives were just doing things they'd already told their husbands about.

- Really good performances from everyone here, and pretty much every joke is landing perfectly here.

- Really loved the bit with the "strange little men" from the basement being Kenan's children.

- A second strong pre-tape from the episode, and one I've already rewatched maybe three times since the episode aired.

RATING: 9/10

SKETCH: Newspoint

- Fun antics from the workers behind the reporters.

- Really good line delivery from Miles when he barges into the newsroom.

- A fun sketch, and I loved the increasingly elevated reactions/incidents happening in the background.

RATING: 6/10

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: Brandi Carlile, "Church and State"

WEEKEND UPDATE:

- Some fairly middling jokes tonight.

- Bowen's George Santos is fun tonight, if you ignore that it's just Bowen being Bowen. Even still, it's a fun performance.

- I love the running bit with the phone call, especially how it seems to tickle Colin and Bowen.

- New characters from Andrew and Ashley, which is really fun, and they're playing them really well.

- A really good Update commentary that makes me even more excited for what this season can bring once they trim this cast and really dig into what they can do well.

RATING: 6/10

SKETCH: Murder Press Briefing

- I love how the press briefing slowly begins to center around Gar-Girl, and how much everyone is deeply interested in her character.

- Again, really solid performances from Andrew and Ashley, and they're making this sketch really fun.

RATING: 6/10

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: Brandi Carlile, "Human"

SKETCH: Italian Restaurant 

- Oh, right, Marcello is in fact in the cast. Strange to see easily the most used cast member of the premiere only now appear in the last sketch of the night.

- And, unfortunately, this sketch is boring me. I rewatched it for this review, hoping it'd click, but no. It's just boring. Weak way to end the night.

RATING: 3/10

OVERALL THOUGHTS: A very strong episode, and Miles Teller was an excellent host! Besides the last sketch, every piece this night was good and had me laughing. If this is a sign of the trajectory this season is on, I'm very excited.

Ashley being an absolute star came as no surprise, but it was very nice to see her paired with Andrew a lot this episode, and seemingly help improve his performances. Ben as well is really killing it, and overall, I think everyone but the years-long veterans, save for Kenan, are the ones dragging down the show for me. Bowen and Mikey's whole deal has just become meh to me,  and Chloe's never done anything crazy for me.

Overall, I'm excited for the upcoming episode with Nikki Glaser, and I really hope we're seeing this cast slowly enter a potential an golden era. See you all later!

SNL Season 51 Episode 3 Review - Sabrina Carpenter

 INTRO: Going into this episode, I am expecting a lot more sketches pandering to the TikTok/Gen Z crowd, and/or some very oddball sketches, knowing that Sabrina is a big advocate for being silly. Anyways, as always, some sketches will have italicized text beneath where I give unprofessional and unnecessary ideas for how the sketches could've been improved.

COLD OPEN: Domingo

- A non-political cold open, but unfortunately, it's Domingo.

- Same old, same old. I'm bored.

- I at least got a small laugh from this being the "sixth strike" for the wife.

- Absolutely shouldn't have happened. Knowing that the first Domingo sketch got almost no laughs during dress, I like to imagine Lorne specifically just really gets a kick out of these sketches. Unfortunately, I do not.

RATING: 2/10

(My enjoyment would've been improved greatly if Domingo had been shot at the end. Credit to a Twitter user for that idea.)

MONOLOGUE: Sabrina Carpenter

- An okay joke about the album cover "controversy".

- We get a photo of Bowen here, who wasn't actually in the building tonight due as he was busy accepting the Vantage Award as an Academy Museum Gala honoree in Los Angeles.

- I was worried the entire monologue was going to go the direction of "host says they're not ___ but then reveals they are!" but thankfully it didn't.

- Very meh at Sabrina's interactions with the audience.

- A good Kenan walk-on, even if the last joke fell a bit flat.

RATING: 5/10

SKETCH: Boys Podcast

- A very meh premise, even being familiar with the exact podcast they're parodying

- The material is actually fairly fun, and it's weirding me out how well-replicated this dialogue is. 

- Random, unnecessary appearance from JAJ's Trump. 

- Trump absolutely killed this fairly fun sketch, unfortunately. Still, I won't knock the fun performances given here.

RATING: 4/10

(No Trump! Simple as that.)

PRE-TAPE: Plans

- A very fun atmosphere to this sketch.

- A good reveal of the scary text, and wonderful escalation.

- A particularly good, relatable laugh at the "the video's ELEVEN MINUTES?" line.

- Ben's giving a really good performance here.

- Yeah, this was great. Some really good, Blumhouse-esque editing here that really nailed the modern horror vibe.

RATING: 7.5/10

SKETCH: ShopTV: Pillow

- Really good bit with the Jesus Halloween basket. 

- An iffy premise with the pillow Sabrina's character is presenting being a vagina.

- I think they're really making this work, with Mikey and Ashley reactions absolutely killing me throughout this sketch.

- I find it weirdly charming they're trying to prevent Sabrina's character from realizing what's wrong with the pillow.

- Funny call-in from Kenan, especially the part where he's still on the line after Mikey asked the line to be cut.

- A sketch that worked despite it's kind of shaky premise!

RATING: 6/10

SKETCH: Girlboss Seminar

- We sure are seeing the same two women paired together in sketches. I get they have Chloe as their "veteran" and Ashley as the real stand-out, but it'd be nice to give Veronika and Sarah a bit more to do.

- A good laugh from Jeremy and Brennan twirling around a ragdoll.

- Good turn with Sabrina having a concussion and continuing her presentation with non-sensical buzzwords conjoined together. 

- Good laugh from Kenan's goofy delivery, and what I thought for a second was a gaffe when Sabrina's ragdoll slammed into the wall.

- A genuine gaffe when Jeremy's ragdoll stayed hanging on the window, and Kenan had to softly push it out of the way.

- Good fainting from Sabrina at the end.

RATING: 5/10 

PRE-TAPE: Grind Song

- I do really like the vibes of this music video already.

- A fun reveal that the kids are just getting ready to grind at the school dance.

- Not much to say, but this is a good pre-tape with some solid performances.

- I like Kenan's small verse, as well as the cut to how the dance is actually going---very awkwardly.

- Jeremy: "I think I'm in love with you." Jane: "Oh, no thank you." Good delivery from Jane there.

RATING: 7.5/10

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: Sabrina Carpenter, "Manchild."

RATING: N/A

WEEKEND UPDATE: 

- Ah, another joke calling Colin a racist.

- Movie Guy! Not the biggest fan of these repetitive jokes, but again, Marcello's infectious energy really makes me smile and laugh anyways. 

- I did get a cheap laugh from the admittedly basic, "I Know What You Did Last Summer?" "Do you?"

- Tommy Brennan at the desk, and his first real showcase!

- I can tell Tommy's a bit nervous, but he's really picking up.

- Some solid jokes from Tommy.

- A good, if a bit predictable, joke about the Catholic priest pleasuring himself during their confessional.

- A good showcase from Tommy! Excited to see what he'll do in the future.

RATING: 5/10

SKETCH: Appliance Store

- Good laugh at the start.

- So, fun concept, and the singing is great, but there's nothing actually... funny happening here.

- Yeah, this all has a nice, fun atmosphere, but it's like they forget there needed to be some jokes thrown in here. Unless the only joke is them being bad washing machines/dryers.

RATING: 3/10

SKETCH: Surprise

- My actual reaction about twenty seconds into this sketch: "Oh. That's the joke."

- The absurdly long hold on Ashley's reaction was hilarious, and made the fart humor a tiny bit worth it.

- The joke about Ashley being angry everyone else has been promoted but her is funny, and is the only thing keeping this sketch alive.

- More fart humor.

- Jeremy's walk-on gave me real Bobby Moynihan vibes. 

- The cut to the explosion didn't really work. It honestly might've been funnier than trying to do the fake-out subversion.

RATING: 2/10

PRE-TAPE: Social Experiment

- Martin out of nowhere! Apparently this sketch got cut from dress previously, so I'm glad to see it here.

- A very fun concept with the audience being full of Frankenstein's monsters.

- Some good back-and-forth between Jane and Martin. 

- Funny turn with a previously sleeping Frankenstein's monster actually being dead.

- Good turn with Kam really vibing with the Frankenstein's monsters. It gets even funnier when it's revealed Kam has no idea who Frankenstein's monster is.

- Overall, this sketch gave me huge Nathan Fielder vibes, and I absolutely loved it. Absolutely the best sketch of the night for me. I hope we get more Martin pre-tapes.

RATING: 9/10

OVERALL THOUGHTS: A fairly 50/50 episode. Some great highs and some fairly low lows. Still, very strong pre-tapes and a couple good sketches, it's about what I'd want from a good episode of SNL. Sabrina was a really fun host, and I'd love to see her back again once the writer's room has a bit more cohesion between them all.

We had some good showcases tonight. Tommy's debut showcase really worked for me (much better than Kam's did, though even he had a good showcase in the last pre-tape) and I'm excited to see what he does. Jeremy was relegated to dancing and a small walk-on, but just those were brilliant. As I'll say over and over again, he's giving me strong Bobby Moynihan vibes as to where he'll fall into on the show. And Jane didn't really have an weak points tonight---she worked in the podcast sketch, she gave me the biggest laugh in Grind Song, and she even had some really solid back-and-forth with Martin in his pre-tape. All around, a solid night for her.

And, of course, Ashley. She is doing much more work than one would expect from a featured player, and she's absolutely killing it. We're witnessing a star in the making.

On November 1st, we have Miles Teller and Brandi Carlile! See you then.

SNL Season 51 Episode 2 Review - Amy Poehler/Role Model

 INTRO: Tonight's a very special episode, as it's SNL's date-by-date 50th anniversary episode. Going in, I knew they wouldn't make a big deal about it, and I was right. Still, I'll go in later about whether I think this episode is worthy of being SNL's 50th.

COLD OPEN: 

- Amy immediately in the cold open! Taking over from Ashley Padilla as SNL's Pam Bondi.

- I'm getting some good laughs from this cold open, even if it's nothing too special for me right now.

- It is nice to get a Trump-free cold open for once, and it feels strangely refreshing. Here's hoping we get a non-political one soon?

- Huge laugh from Jeremy's whole Epstein bit. 

- Yeah, Amy's crushing it in this cold open, and it's not just her delivery carrying these lines. 

- Tina Fey cameo, as expected. And she's SNL's Kristi Noem. 

- Great reaction from Mikey.

- Solid delivery and chemistry from Fey and Poehler, as was to be expected.

- Strangely surreal to see Amy and Tina giving a LFNY together in 2025.

RATING: 7/10

MONOLOGUE: Amy Poehler

- Always a delight to see Amy at homebase.

- Good to see the new cast members get a small spotlight, even if this feels more fitting to happen in a premiere. 

- Not the strongest of jokes, but Amy's making everything work here.

- A nice, more real segment as Amy talks about SNL going on for 50 years.

- Overall, I'm just delighted to have Amy Poehler back.

RATING: 6/10

SKETCH: The Rudeman's

- Immediately got Debbie Downer vibes from this sketch, and that's worrying for me. I only really liked the first Debbie Downer sketch for a reason I'm sure everyone is aware of.

- Yeah, this is just awfully tepid and boring.

- This is doing nothing for me at all. Even Mikey's sudden outburst at the end failed to get a laugh from me. 

RATING: 1.5/10

(I think this sketch could've worked if literally anything happened. Sudden escalation, be crazy with it. This sketch is already absurd, just go as far as possible. You're allergic to recurring sketches in this era anyways, so don't worry about trying to top yourself next time. Kill someone in the sketch, for all I care!)

PRE-TAPE: Non-Alcoholic Beer

- A maybe unintentional laugh from a very young looking Andrew saying, "I'm getting too old for this."

- Good laughs from all of the reactions to Andrew's beverage, but I can't help but think about Vanessa in this sketch, as she's always sort of been the queen of smiling-through-absurdity in commercials for me.

- Loved Kam's line about the smell of gasoline.

- Good ending with Andrew running from Ben as a cop.

RATING: 7/10

SKETCH: The Fast Psychic

- I'm probably one of the younger people who immediately clocked this was going to be a Sylvia Browne parody.

- Amy feels so natural in this role, and she's absolutely killing the fast delivery here. 

- Love the turn here with Amy just bluntly telling everyone their loved one is dead.

- Particularly laughed at the "My husband-"/"He's dead."/"No, actually, he's right here." exchange.

- Good laugh from Kam's shocked reaction to being told his father was dead, despite already knowing.

- Funny corrections scroll for all the people misidentified as being dead. It reminds me a lot of the corrections scroll that the Fox & Friends sketches have.

- Loved Jane's reaction to hearing that she's dead.

- Hilarious part with the camera panning over the audience while Amy rapid fires psychic readings, especially with the "Marry, F, Kill," bit.

- Funny walk-on (or I guess, stand-up) from Marcello at the end. Honestly, he does sometimes feel to me like a Hispanic Andy Samberg in these live sketches. 

- Great ending with the call-back to the hard out at 7.

- Overall, absolutely flawless. Loved this to bits.

RATING: 9/10

PRE-TAPE: Hunting Wives.

- A parody of a show I've never seen in my life, so it's a 50/50 if it'll be enjoyable.

- What do you know, it's enjoyable. It's a bit funny seeing Amy and Ashley overshadow Chloe in a pre-tape so effortlessly.

- Aubrey Plaza cameo!

- A good bit with the homoerotic tension being broken by homophobia.

- A solid pre-tape, even if I think it might've worked better if I'd seen this show.

RATING: 6.5/10

SKETCH: Work Birth

- Feels like the kind of sketch Amy would've signed up for back when she was actually pregnant during her tenure.

- Amy's, of course, absolutely perfect in this role. I don't think anyone else could've pulled this off as well is she is.

- Amazing performance by Ben, who's playing a very Will Ferrel-esque role, as many others have pointed out. 

- For all the wackiness of the sketch, it lost me a bit with Bowen's part at the end, but not completely.

RATING: 7/10

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: Role Model "Sally,  When The Wine Runs Out."

- During this performance, I texted my friend many messages, including, "Is he supposed to sound like that???" and "Oh." 

- Seriously, why does the audio sound so raw? And not in an artistic, interesting way. In a I'm watching my older cousin show off the new music he just wrote" way.

- I'm so out of the loop with Role Model, and I also didn't recognize Charli XCX when she entered, so this whole "Sally" bit did absolutely nothing for me.

- I don't really like rating Musical Performances, but this one gets a special 1/10 from me because what the fuck did I just watch? I understand, performance jitters, but still.

WEEKEND UPDATE: 

- Solid Jigsaw joke.

- A new Sarah character.

- While I'm not really a fan of this, I doubt that "the Zohran voters would use this toothless commentary as an example how evil SNL is." This is light-hearted jabs given by a character that's obviously supposed to be in the wrong, this is the kind of stuff the right would take offense to but play off as being totally in on. 

- The Jost-parting-with-Epstein bit wasn't all that funny, but not nearly worthy the anger I saw a lot of people give it because it's a joke about Colin being a sex pest. 

- GRANT AND ALYSSA! 

- As my profile picture on this website would suggest, I adore G&A. I understand that it's Marcello and Jane basically just tapping into their default performance mode, (Marcello shouting, Jane being awkward) but lord does it work perfectly for me. IMO, this is exactly how cast should be utilized, I don't see why it's a problem for them to be tapping into what they are best at doing, especially because the writing is always fairly solid for G&A. 

- It's a bit obvious the show lost two writers of this sketch (2/3 of PDD), as it feels a lot more off than usual. I think Marcello might be using a different voice as well. 

- The Sylvia Plath line is exactly what I mean when I say Jane's deadpan delivery can work sometimes. 

- Good bit with the pumpkins, I love how earnestly Grant loves his pumpkin. 

- More thoughts on these guys at the end, but it needs to be known G&A are in my heart. 

- A Joke-Off! I expected Amy to return to the desk, and even Tina, but seeing Seth really made me happy. Despite the very eh feel Seth had towards the latter half of his solo desk era, I still have a very nostalgic connection to that era that makes me keen to his delivery style. 

- Lots of good punchlines to this joke, though I think the previous one with Amy/Tina/Jimmy/Seth was a bit funnier. 

- Very nice way to end Update, and felt like both cameos for Amy, and a nice nod to this being the 50th anniversary. 

RATING: 8/10, if only because Sarah's commentary was a bit eh. 

(Seeing as they're really all this era has going for them in terms of recurring characters, we're probably seeing Grant and Alyssa again. Personally, I think it'd be a crime to leave them at the desk. These characters can only really shine and grow by putting them in new situations, and thus, putting them in sketches. I saw discussion on Twitter about a a potential "meet the family" sketch, with Grant being the Boston Teenagers' kid and Alyssa being The Needlers' daughter, and while that's too cameo-heavy and nostalgia bait-y for me, it's the kind of direction I think these characters should go to, if they really want G&A to shine. It's funny hearing what they do in different situations, but it'd be funnier to actually see them.) 

SKETCH: Experienced Lawyers 

- Great entrance from Amy. Seeing a wall get burst through in the first half minute of the sketch says a lot about the escalation we're about to see. 

- More and more lawyers appearing to try and best the previous' level of experience is hilarious, and I love how they're all tied to testimonials. 

- Jane's flat delivery halted the sketch a bit, but not enough to fully stop it in its tracks. 

- A really great part with "Clones, activate!" Absolutely love that. 

- As many have pointed out, Jeremy's expression in this sketch is giving a lot of Bobby Moynihan energy, and honestly I can see him slowly becoming this era's Bobby Moynihan. 

- Sarah absolutely killed me with the Draculaw entrance, and it's a pun I can't believe I haven't seen in another sketch or comedy piece. 

- An eh reaction to Bowen as the great World Tree, but Kenan as Zeus managed to salvage this turn. 

- Overall, an absolute classic with nearly zero flaws. I can see myself coming back to this over and over again, and I'm sure it'll be divisive between many people. please more sketches like this SNL please please please please. 

RATING: 9.5/10 

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: Role Model "Some Protector" 

- Not much to say, just that this is an amazing improvement over the previous song. I actually enjoyed this one! 7/10 

SKETCH: Emo Mom 

- JAJ is absolutely killing it as a kind, suburban father. 

- Amy is, of course, killing it as a menopausal mother going through her emo phase. And she looks fantastic to boot. 

- Just great lines from everyone here, I love the back-and-forth between everyone. - Fun walk-ons from Jane, Kam, and Ben as goths, and they all look stunning in those outfits. 

- The disgusting tattoo reveal at the end is, to use a strange analogy at 2 AM, kind of like the end of the Boombox Digital Short: almost more disturbing than it is funny. 

- An absolutely killer piece. 

RATING: 8.5/10 

SKETCH: Theme Songs Masterclass 

- This isn't doing much for me, even a minute in. 

- As to be expected, solid performances from JAJ and Amy, but otherwise, really nothing to write home about here. 

RATING: 3/10 

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I'm aware some people weren't hot on this episode, but for me, it was fantastic, and exactly what the show needed after how rough the Bad Bunny episode was. While they sandwiched by two bad sketches (Rudeman's and Theme Songs), tonight was really solid. Highlights for me of course include Grant and Alyssa, Experienced Lawyers, and Emo Mom, but there was something enjoyable in practically every sketch. 

Amy was, of course, a sketch stealer throughout the entire night, and I'm so glad she came to host. Overall, an episode with a few misses, mostly hits, and an absolutely classic? I think this episode is fairly fitting as a representation of 50 years of SNL. 

I'll see you all next week for what I'm sure will be a heavy TikTok-pandering episode with Sabrina Carpenter hosting!

SNL Season 51 Episode 1 Review - Bad Bunny/Doja Cat

INTRO TO REVIEW: Unfortunately couldn't get this review out earlier, but it's happening now! I did rewatch these segments prior to this review, so I've got about three viewings of each sketch in. Amy's episode will be posted either earlier tonight or tomorrow!

To introduce my format quickly: If you've seen Stooge's One SNL A Day Project, it's basically that. Segment title, a list of my thoughts, and a rating at the end. Occasionally, I will offer my very amateur and needless thoughts on how a sketch could possibly improve. Enjoy!

COLD OPEN: Military Meeting

- Absolutely love to see Jeremy Culhane opening up the season. He's the only one of the new 5 featured players that I'm familiar with, and it's been lovely to see everyone be so excited for him to premiere. And he's pretty solid with his delivery here.

- Colin as Secretary of War, Peter Hegseth. It makes good use of his Harvard-graduate look and charm, and the novelty of seeing him doing a character is always a delight. 

- I think I'm a fan of Colin's performance here more than most of the other review bloggers.  You'll see I'm a bigger fan of flatter performances than most when we get to a certain featured player next episode

- The expected JAJ Trump. As practically everyone else has said, his impression is much too kind to the real man. I did get a few laughs, but it's definitely not what I want to see over and over once again this season. 

- A very energetic, solo LFNY to kick off the night.

RATING: 6/10

(Of course, I would've loved to see no Trump tonight. I think the writing for Hegseth was, as is usual with SNL's political sketches recently, just not funnier than what it's parodying. I mean, they were harder on Obama, and that's Obama! Just a universal wish for SNL to be stop being toothless in today's political climate.)

MONOLOGUE: Bad Bunny

- I know some people find Bad Bunny unfunny because of his stilted delivery, and frankly, I think that's idiotic. This is a funny guy, and I can absolutely understand the difficulty with speaking the awful language that is English.

- Nothing to really say about this monologue, for the most part.

- A good laugh from Bad Bunny commenting, after speaking Spanish for an extended time, "And if you didn't understand that, you have four months to learn."

RATING: 5/10

Sketch: Jeopardy!

- I mean Jesus Christ. With the killer reputation basically every other Jeopardy! sketch holds, it's almost embarrassing to see something so tepid and amateur. 

- I did get a single laugh from this sketch, of course provided by Kenan going through Bad Bunny's thought process, before BB replies "No, that wasn't it at all." 

- Overall, an awful lead-off sketch to start the premiere, and just so embarrassingly lazy.

RATING: 2/10

(Aside from literally just not using this premise, I would've loved some sort of escalation. Unfortunately, once you start escalating, you quickly run into the trap of the sketch just being Celebrity Jeopardy without the celebrities. There's just no salvaging such a freshman idea. This is the kind of thing I would've written as a sketch idea in the 9th grade.)

PRE-TAPE: ChatGPTIO

- A relatable premise for me, rather than just a bit of a silly one that I'm sure it is for most SNL reviewers.

- I am, personally, a big fan of Marcello. As much as his performances can boil down to yelling things in an exaggerated accent, he has enough charisma that it works for me 90% of the time.

- Marcello's performance here is elevating the lines, especially a particularly angry, "You don't!" in response to being asked how to make vegan bread.

- Funny moment with Bad Bunny.

- While I would've loved a more biting attack on ChatGPT (SNL is usually very happy to make fun of the wacky things millenials and Gen Z are into), this was funny and relatable for me as a Mexican.

RATING: 6/10

SKETCH: The Donor

- Funny reveal of Bad Bunny's appearance.

- I'm getting a few laughs from the premise here, but it's not nearly as funny as I think it could be.

- Another funny appearance reveal, this time from Kenan.

- And a third funny reveal, this time a walk-on from Marcello. Though, this one definitely wasn't as funny as I think the writer's thought it'd be.

- Yeah, overall, while I did get a few chuckles, this sketch really didn't do much for me.

RATING: 4/10

SKETCH: K-Pop Demon Hunters

- Another restaurant set! How easy would it have been to just set this sketch literally anywhere else? 

- I am much more online than the 40 year old men who usually have these blogs, so I'm happy to say I'm familiar with K-Pop Demon Hunters, even if I've never actually sat down and watched the movie.

- This premise just is not working for me. It's like they knew they had to reference the movie, so they just picked some generic premise they could put the skin of K-Pop Demon Hunters over.

- Oh, yeah, obviously cameos from the voices of the main characters. A novelty I'm sure I'd be more excited about if I'd actually seen the movie. I'm sure this will be the most watched segment on YouTube.

RATING: 3/10

Musical Performance: Doja Cat, "AAAHH MEN!"

- N/A

WEEKEND UPDATE:

- Again, unlike most of my fellow SNL review bloggers, I am not advocating for Colin and Che to leave the Update desk. I mean, they continue to consistently be the most-watched segment of any episode, they still have killer chemistry, their jokes work for me---really, I don't see them stopping anytime soon, unless Colin and Che suddenly feel burnt out or get some other offer that's more attractive for them. 

- Solid jokes tonight.

- Kam Patterson first appearance being on Update, something I predicted a few days before the episode's premiere.

- Kam has a bit of a eh delivery, but that's never really bothered me. His jokes aren't anything strong, but he's still coming off likable enough.

- Yeah, nothing special.

- Bowen as Dobby the House Elf. I'm sure this will stay non-political.

- No way! It's political! I do love to see some insults being thrown at Joanne Rowling, though, but I can't forgive this commentary for just being unfunny.

RATING: 5/10 (to be clear, for me, a Weekend Update 5 is like a sketch 7/10)

SKETCH: Inventing Spanish

- Some good laughs during this sketch, but nothing really to write home about. 

- A Benito del Toro cameo, that's neat to see.

- A few more laughs, but again, this sketch isn't doing much for me.

RATING: 5/10

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: Doja Cat, "Gorgeous"

- N/A

SKETCH: Parent-Teacher Conference

- Ashley Padilla in a leading role!

- Marcello is getting some laughs out of me.

- Ashley is absolutely killing it in this sketch. You can tell she's just so natural in sketch comedy, unlike a lot of the stand-ups that SNL tends to hire now for some reason.

- Love Ashley trying to explain the increasingly insulting drawings as just kindness and childish imagination. 

- Overall, yeah, definitely the best sketch so far. SNL, I beg, please, put Ashley in everything.

RATING: 7.5/10

SKETCH: The Kid From Number Eight

- I jumped when this sketch started. I have so many fond memories from watching El Chavo de Ocho, and I knew immediately this was written with a lot of love.

- The performances here are spot-on and top notch, everyone is absolutely perfect here.

- The purposefully cheesy slapstick is absolutely doing it for me.

- Of course it ends with everyone crying, and somehow even that was impersonated absolutely perfectly.

- While I didn't have much to say, yeah, this was my favorite sketch of the night. Even if it did just feel like An Episode Of El Chavo de Ocho, I loved it regardless.

RATING: 9/10

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Save for the a couple of sketches, this night was horrid. Sketches were either boring and tepid or just forgettable, and Weekend Update had two slogs of commentaries. Of course, we have one of my new favorites, The Kid From Number Eight, but that's about it.

Ashley really stood out in this episode, and Marcello especially got a lot of screentime. You can tell SNL is taking a hit from losing two of their star female performers, and its a shame they only have writers familiar with Chloe Fineman now.

Bad Bunny is a charismatic and likeable guy, but I just really don't think he's a good fit for SNL. Still, I like him enough as a host that I don't think I'd be too upset if he was asked back again.

And, as a final note, I damn near forgot Tommy Brennan was introduced this episode, but that's to be expected with a cast this size and five new featured players. Interestingly, the only cast member not in this episode was Jane, who only showed up for goodnights. No comment on that.

Luckily, I know things pick up in the next episode. See you then!

A Short Intro

Hello, everyone! My name is Sam. For info about me, check my Blogger's Profile to the right of this post. Over there, you'll find all of my reviews neatly sorted. 

I've been watching SNL for only about five months now, but I've watched Seasons 31-39, a few of the early seasons, and I've seen most classic sketches you can think of. With how much fun I have rambling about SNL to my friends, family, and anyone willing to listen, I figured I'd create a space to review new SNL episodes, and maybe even just discuss cast members, behind-the-scenes info, and even review some older episodes at random (perhaps Season 40 onward, as I catch up on those.)

Of course, the blog will start when the new season kicks off (October 4!), but it also may start when I watch Louis C.K's Season 39 episode. Who knows! 

A review should come out as soon as the episode has finished airing, but it's also not all I'll be reviewing. As I begin a rewatch of Dimension 20's entire catalog, I'll also be providing reviews of those seasons, starting with Fantasy High. (I'll be borrowing a review format from a blog I really enjoy reading, The Library Ladies, so full props to them for making a format I really love writing/reading.)

That's about all! Enjoy the reviews, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments, as well as any suggestions for formatting, media to review, etc. Hope you enjoy!