SNL: 2015 Top 15

With SNL on its winter break (returning January 16th), I thought I'd do a top 15 for 2015 (including Season 40 & 41). I ended up just selecting from sketches and digital shorts, excluding any Update appearances. So with that being said, lets get to the Top 15.

15) "First Got Horny 2 U" (Elizabeth Banks - S41)

Featuring Banks, Cecily Strong, Vanessa Bayer, Aidy Bryant and Kate McKinnon, this music video was both great and nostalgic. With references to Carson Daly, The Nanny and that "Dinosaurs" TV Show (seriously, remember that?), this was just incredibly creative.  

       




14) "Santa Baby" (Ryan Gosling - S41)

This digital short was really out there, but being 'out there' is what SNL does best. Ryan and Vanessa really play this up well, as does Beck Bennett (especially when he's in his Santa outfit...sobbing). I don't know what the writers were on when they came up with this, but here's hoping they keep on doing it.
         



13) Black Widow Trailer (Scarlett Johansson - S40)

This Marvel parody was great, but it also made a statement. As a standalone movie, Black Widow looks to balance out work, friendships and relationships in this "rom-com". While there have been strong female characters in Marvel movies (and superhero movies in general), there haven't been many standalone films headed by women (Marvel especially).
        



12) "Close Encounters" (Ryan Gosling - S41)

This was one of those sketches that was just filled with energy....because everyone broke. Kate displayed her talent here, as she explained her alien abduction. She just owned this character in every sense. Without that, this would have been just an average sketch, but the break made this one special.
         




11) "Family Feud: Extended Family" (Tracy Morgan - S41)

Game show sketches can get pretty mundane, but when they shine, they really shine. This Family Feud sketch played off of an actual idea, instead of just using it as a vehicle for celebrity impersonations. One family is headed by the single Leslie Jones.....the other by her ex Tracy Morgan and his new wife Cecily Strong. Kenan Thompson worked flawlessly here, allowing his Steve Harvey impression to really pop.
      



10) "Casablanca" (J.K. Simmons - S40)

An "alternate ending" to Casablanca, once again Kate displayed why she's among the best right now on SNL. In this ending, Ilsa isn't so conflicted about getting on that plane, despite the long speech by Rick (Simmons). Just a brilliant sketch.
      




9) "Spaceship" (Chris Hemsworth - S40)

Never has a host had such chemistry with a chicken. A spaceship captained by a chicken........that was the actual plot of the sketch, was fantastic. Hemsworth was able to play off and quickly react to whatever the chicken did. This could have gone very wrong, but luckily for us, everything clicked.
         



8) "WWE Promo Shoot" (Dwayne Johnson - S40)

This was a sketch where you weren't quite sure where it was heading or what to expect. Johnson plays a wrestler who gets extra personal when attacking his opponent (Bobby Moynihan). This shouldn't have worked, but "The Rock" Johnson put this all together to make it work.
        




7) "Guns" (Amy Schumer - S41)

It took a while this season, but SNL finally waded into the waters of gun control with this digital short. You have to imagine, given her advocacy, that Amy pushed for this, and it worked really well. Yes, its over the top, but there are just so many great scenes, from Kate McKinnon firing a gun in the air while on a jog, to Vanessa and Bobby wielding guns as she gets wheeled in to a hospital to deliver a baby. Its nice to see when SNL gets into the political field with something humorous like this.
        



6) "Star Wars Toy Commercial" (Chris Hemsworth - S41)

Arguable the best parody commercial of the year, this was a good addition to the list of "Star Wars" bits over the last year or so. This commercial features probably one of the greatest lines of the season, where a kid tells Taran Killam "Does your wife like toys too?", followed by a close-up to his solemn face.
          



5) "Bushwick, Brooklyn 2015" (Kevin Hart - S40)

A great digital short with Jay Pharoah, Kenan and Kevin, there were just so many great moments here. The premise seems simple enough, but this short has a pretty high re-watchability factor. Very well produced digital short.
        



4) "Neurotology Music Video" (Michael Keaton - S40)

Another great digital short, this music video is a take off of the Scientology music video that went viral with the release of a Scientology documentary over the last year. Some may say it looks too much like the original, but there are just so many great little moments. This is a perfect takedown, yet also kind of sad to think that some actually follow a practice similar to this.
          



3) "Thanksgiving Miracle" (Matthew McConaughey - S41)

This was a perfect vehicle for Adele's "Hello". In this digital short, a family sits around the table during thanksgiving dinner, and start to bicker about politics. That's where Adele comes in, as "Hello" is a universal symbol for all. The production value was fantastic, as everyone (even Matthew and Jay) start turning into Adele. But Aidy Bryant's transformation may be the best of all...wind-machine and all.
         



2) "Listening Party" (Kevin Hart - S40)

This was the best host-led sketch of the year. Kevin Hart's energy solely made this work, as he bounced around, firing off lines and gun noises, as he reveals secrets of his crew. A sketch that needed a lot of energy to work, and it had just that.




1) "Picture Perfect" (Reese Witherspoon - S40)


SNL has been a little timid over the past year in dealing with edgy material, but this certainly wasn't one of them. A pictionary like game-show, Bobby is asked to draw the prophet Muhammad by host Taran Killam. Bobby and Kenan's facial expressions alone made this (in my opinion), the best sketch of 2015.
          

SNL Season 41: Ep. 9

SNL had its mid-season finale, as it welcomed back Tina Fey & Amy Poehler. So would they go out on a high? Onto the review

GOP Debate Cold Open: So far, SNL hasn't really know what to do with the GOP race. This was one of the first GOP debate parodies, and it didn't go all that well (at least not with vintage debate sketches). Darrell Hammond returned to play Trump, with Taran Killam sliding over as Ted Cruz. Hammond's portrayal was welcome compared to Killam's lukewarm impression. No matter how "meh" this cold open was though, Jay Pharoah's Ben Carson will always be hilarious. (5.7)

Monologue: As expected, being the Christmas show, Tina and Amy did sang a "new" Christmas song, with completely different tones. I'm not quite sure where this was going, but its fun to see Tina and Amy play off one another (even if this went on a bit too long). (6.7)

A Hillary Christmas: Current Hillary (McKinnon) meets late 2007 Hillary (Poehler) in this sketch. They discussed the similarities and differences on each's campaigns, and had a good laugh at Trump being the frontrunner for the GOP. What made this sketch great though was Tina Fey returning as Sarah Palin. Yeah, it might have made much sense with the sketch, but her Palin game is just as strong as ever. (8.3)

         



Meet Your 2nd Wife: There were some audio glitches that threw this one off, so I re-watched the edited sketch on youtube to accurately review it. Tina and Amy play gameshow hosts, where they introduce contestant's future 2nd wife to them (Killam/Moynihan/Kenan Thompson). The twist...their 2nd wives are much much younger. This is some of that edgy humor that SNL tends to do well. (8.0)
        




Hoverboard (ad): SNL got around to mocking those so-called "hoverboards" that seem to be all the rage this holiday season. They may not actually hover, but they do catch on fire quite often. This was enjoyable enough, although a little dated. (7.4)


Movie Set: This sketch made its return...for some reason. Kenan plays a director on a movie much like "Carol", but he wants Tina and Amy to act like its The Jeffersons. This sketch probably seems good on paper, but it just doesn't play well on camera. That, and it went pretty long. (3.9)


(Bruce Springsteen + The E-Street Band): (8.0)


Weekend Update: Jost and Che have formed a fairly solid partnership, but that partnership can be a little uneven as a whole at times. They were alright this week, but they weren't quite at their best.

The first guest saw McKinnon as "Somebody's Mom" Deenie. She ate some salmon, and talked about some soap opera or whatever she'd been watching. Kate is just a treasure. SNL fans should appreciate her while she's still here.

Deenie

Tina and Amy showed up to tell the last joke of Update. I wish they had gotten to do more. (6.9)


Special Offer: A sketch about a special offer on a variety show, this seemed like a vehicle to get a bunch of ideas on the show. Maya Rudolph showed up and did her thing, and then Amy sang a Christmas song while on crack....followed by Kenan's Bill Cosby doing "Baby, Its Cold Outside". The bits were fun, but it felt a bit scattered. (6.0)


Dope Squad (short): A takeoff of Taylor Swift's squad in her "Bad Blood" music video, this was really clever. It felt like one of SNL's more old-school digital shorts. Featuring Tina and Amy's squad of nannies and shared gynecologist (plus Amy Schumer), this just felt very real and down to Earth. (8.0)

Dope Squad


(Bruce Springsteen + the E-Street Band): (8.4)


Bronx Beat: Maya made another appearance with the oft-seen recurring sketch with Amy "bronx beat". It seems no matter the "guest" or the writing, Amy and Maya have just as much chemistry as Tina and Amy. While this wasn't the best version, it still was nice to see. (7.0)


This was more or less a consistent show to close out 2015. Maybe expectations were a bit too high, but this was an enjoyable show (especially the closing credits, where Paul McCartney showed up as Bruce and the band played 'Santa Clause Is Coming To Town'). The cast looked like they really enjoyed themselves.

Overall Score - 7.03

Tracy Morgan - 7.94
Elizabeth Banks - 7.53

Chris Hemsworth - 7.20
Amy Schumer - 7.18

Matthew McConaughey - 7.13

Tina Fey/Amy Poehler - 7.03
Ryan Gosling - 6.92
Miley Cyrus - 6.07
Donald Trump - 4.92

SNL Season 41: Ep.8

SNL continued on as it approaches its midseason finale next week, and a familiar face stopped by. So how did Chris Hemsworth do? Onto the review

Cold Open: George W. Bush: Will Ferrell stopped by as Bush to discuss the current GOP field. Political cold opens have been very hit or miss this season, but this week's was the best one yet. Ferrell was in his element on Bush, talking about how "Jeb!'s" slogan, and riffing on Donald Trump. As Bush mentions, compared to this field, Bush didn't look half-bad as a President. (9.2)

        


Monologue: Hemsworth joked around about how soon he's coming back to SNL since hosting last season. He went back-stage and roughed around with the cast-members (but wouldn't mess with Leslie Jones). I actually really like these types of monologues. Its been done before, but Hemsworth did it really well. (7.6)


Star Wars Toy Commercial: With Force Awakens coming out this coming Friday, we were bound to get a Star Wars bit, but this was done really well. The commercial featured kids.....and collectors trying to dictate on how to play with them. One particular line made this great; when one of the kids told Taran Killam if his wife likes to play with toys....followed by a close-up of his solemn face. This was a bit that spoke to a lot of people. (8.7)

         




Christmas Sing-a-long: This was a sketch that was out there, yet it still worked because everyone involved really committed. Hemsworth and Cecily Strong played a couple with some friends over (Kenan Thompson/Sasheer Zamata/Kate McKinnon/Killam) singing some carols. Then Cecily and Hemsworth started singing "Debra's Time", which no one knew. Cecily was just so committed to this, and it played well on how the friends somehow knew the song by the end. (8.1)

         



Brother to Brother: Wrestling Meet: A recurring sketch from the last time Hemsworth hosted, he played as a twin brother with Taran, and like the first one, they try to pass Killam off as his brother at a wrestling meet. There, the coach and teammates start to tear him down on his looks. This was good the first time around, but we got the point. I'm not sure we needed a repeat of this. (5.5)


Time To Bleed (short): Next was a short where Hemsworth played a cop partners with Zamata, who gets shot but doesn't go to a hospital, playing off of situational TV dramas where they seem to bounce back quickly. Hemsworth and Zamata had a lot of chemistry, and worked well together. The premise was just great, as he continually tried to hit on Zamata, even through lead poisoning. (8.0)




On The Record: This saw Kate McKinnon take on the role as Greta Van Susteren as she asked GOP candidates their take on Trump's recent plan to ban Muslims from entering the country. Killam as Ted Cruz was pretty great, but once again it was Jay Pharoah's Ben Carson that made this lackluster sketch memorable and amusing. (6.6)


(Chance The Rapper): (8.0)


Weekend Update: The writing for Update this week was just fine. Nothing extraordinary. Che and Jost had a nice little riff on Trump, but it felt like it lost a little punch (especially considering how he hosted this season).

Coming off of being named Time's Person of the Year, Kate appeared as German Chancellor Angela Merkel. As always, she was pretty great. She had a great line on Trump's disapproval of her, saying "I guess Trump's more of a fan of our earlier work".


Leslie Jones showed up talking about Breaking Bad (she's been live-tweeting her marathon viewing of the show over the past couple of weeks). Leslie is usually always on point, but this appearance seemed rather pointless. (6.4)



Brunch: Hemsworth went under-cover as "Clair" to see if his female fans still liked him. This was a sketch that was kind of dumb on its face, but was still pretty humorous. The group (Cecily, Aidy Bryant, Vanessa Bayer) started wondering why Clair kept talking about Hemsworth, and then wondered how they even met her. Aidy's last line in particular was very well delivered. (6.6)


Pirate Ship: Oy, this sketch. This was one of, if not the first sketch where new cast-member Jon Rudnitsky was the star...and it wasn't good. I mean, it wasn't epically horrible or anything. Jon played a pirate who messed and joked around on a ship.....but it just wasn't good. It leaves me wondering why they even hired Jon in the first place. (4.5)


(Chance The Rapper): (8.5)



Male Strippers: A group of strippers (Pharoah/Beck Bennett/Hemsworth/Taran) put on a show....well more of a dance performance without stripping, much to the disapproval of the crowd. This was a sketch that was a good premise, but just didn't play out when performed. (5.9)


Maybe its too early to call Hemsworth the next Timberlake or Jon Hamm, but coming off of his 2nd hosting gig right after his first, he's very well up to the task. He seems to enjoy poking fun at himself, and he works really well with the cast. Its nice seeing a show where it looks like the host and cast really enjoy one another.


 Overall Score - 7.20

Tracy Morgan - 7.94
Elizabeth Banks - 7.53

Chris Hemsworth - 7.20
Amy Schumer - 7.18

Matthew McConaughey - 7.13
Ryan Gosling - 6.92
Miley Cyrus - 6.07
Donald Trump - 4.92

SNL Season 41: Ep.7

SNL came off its Thanksgiving break and started its final push before Christmas. So how did Ryan Gosling do? Well hey....let me tell you about it. Onto the review

Donald Trump Christmas Message (Cold Open): The show started off with Taran Killan as Donald Trump (with Cecily Strong as his wife). This just missed the mark. You can't really do a proper parody anymore with Trump, given everything he's said or is likely to say on the campaign trail. That, combined with Taran's sub-par Trump impression, resulted in this being a total miss. (3.9)

Monologue: Ryan's monologue started with him pretending to be from Brooklyn instead of Canada, and looked like it was veering into a Q&A monologue, but then fellow Canadian Mike Myers appeared and livened things up a bit. Ryan still looked a bit nervous, but with Mike he looked fairly comfortable as they sang a "Canadian Christmas song". (6.9)

Settl App (ad): An ad for an app for those who want to settle for a partner. All in all, this was fine, but the idea wasn't all that inventive. I was kind of fascinated with Taran's character though. (6.2)

Close Counter: Ryan, Cecily and Kate McKinnon played UFO witnesses at a NSA meeting. Cecily and Ryan had tranquil experiences......but not so much for Kate. On its face, this was a sketch that should have been just "meh", but with Kate being the genius that she is, got everyone to break (even the NSA agents, Aidy Bryant and Bobby Moynihan). There was just so much energy in this sketch. (8.8)

        




Santa Baby (short): I don't know what the writers were on when they came up with this, but thank God whatever it was. This short played off like a drama, with Ryan and Vanessa Bayer playing a couple at a Christmas party, expecting to really see Santa. Beck Bennett and the rest of the guests quickly get creeped out as the tension and bizarreness of it all ratchets up. Ryan and Vanessa really sold and committed to this, and that makes it work as well as it did. (9.0)
        



Birthday Party: A recurring sketch from a while back, Ryan played a dad supervising a teenage birthday party, and Aidy Bryant is feeling some things. In general, this sketch was fairly flat, but Aidy did everything she could and saved it from being a miss. (6.8)


(Leon Bridges): (7.9)



Weekend Update: I don't know what happened here, maybe it was the writing, or the delivery, because you could hear crickets throughout the 1st half with Colin Jost & Michael Che. It wasn't until the guests showed up that the audience finally got into it.

Cecily Strong played magazine writer Jill Davenport who was supposed to talk about tech gift ideas, but instead used her time to flirt with Colin. Besides Cecily showing how attractive she is, I'm not sure what the point was behind this.

The guest that made Update this week was Bobby's Anthony Crespino (second-hand news man) and his partner & third-hand newsman Angelo Skaggs (Ryan). These two worked really well together and brought the energy level back up for Update. (6.5)
          




Hometown Bar: In this sketch, Ryan returned to his hometown bar to talk with a GQ reporter (Cecily). There, he ran into an old friend Kyle Mooney, who challenged him to dance and sing. That was pretty much the entire sketch. There really wasn't much to this besides giving Ryan an opportunity to dance. (5.8)


Nespresso (ad/short): Watching this for the first time, I didn't get it at all. But it turns out this was based off of an actual nespresso ad featuring George Clooney and Danny DeVito.
    

So with that context, this parody made sense (with Bobby returning as Devito, and Taran making for a pretty believable Clooney). In the parody, DeVito was puzzled on why Clooney was stringing him along for just a cup of coffee. All in all, this was actually pretty good (as mentioned, with the added context). (8.4)




The Wiz: Cut Scene: SNL got around to a sketch about this year's live musical telecast "The Wiz". It featured Sasheer Zamata as Dorothy, along with the scarecrow, lion and tin-man as they meet the wizard (Leslie Jones), when the Wizard Of Oz's scarecrow shows up (Ryan). This sketch was about the differences between the two adaptions (and its modernization). This could have been flat, but Ryan really made for a terrific scarecrow. (7.0)


(Leon Bridges): (8.0)


Submissive Elves: This was a pretty bizarre recurring sketch (last appearing with Louis CK). Keenan Thompson, Vanessa and Ryan played elves who wouldn't to be disciplined by Santa (Bobby). This sketch quickly made its point, and then kept on going. It was really trying to hard for that 10 to 1 spot. (4.7)


Ryan Gosling sure tried, and that's really all you can ask for from a host. They stayed away from topical material for original sketches, which were fairly hit or miss. Gosling's breaking got a little old after a while, but he still made for an appealing host.

Overall Score - 7.13


Tracy Morgan - 7.94
Elizabeth Banks - 7.53
Amy Schumer - 7.18

Matthew McConaughey - 7.13
Ryan Gosling - 6.92
Miley Cyrus - 6.07
Donald Trump - 4.92

SNL Season 41: Ep.6

SNL closed out their November run before taking a Thanksgiving break with Matthew McConaughey, so how did it go? Onto the review.

Fox & Friends (Cold Open): A very common cold open recently, Fox & Friends. The guests saw the return of Kate McKinnon as DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. But what made this cold open click was seeing Jay Pharoah as Ben Carson. That impression is so on point. Felt like something was missing though, as they decided to omit the end of show corrections that are usually pure gold. (6.9)

Monologue: In terms of monologues, McConaughey's was pretty fresh. It didn't include any singing, or Q&A sessions, it was just McConaughey talking about "Dazed & Confused" and how the catchphrase "alright alright alright" came to being. The story kind of rambled on, but as I said, in terms of monologues, it was alright. (7.0)

A Thanksgiving Miracle (Short): With Adele as the musical guest, there was bound to be a skit about "Hello", and low and behold, here it was. With that being said though, this was fantastic. It featured a family (Aidy Bryant/Cecily Strong/Beck Bennett/Jay Pharoah/Vanessa Bayer/Kate Mckinnon & McConaughey), bickering about refugees and ISIS over dinner. The only thing to bring them together? "Hello". The production value and the build-up was great, as everyone eventually just turns into Adele. Aidy and Jay were particularly great. Another Thanksgiving short done right by SNL. (8.7)

         

Blues Shack: An "introducing the band" type of sketch, this seemed like it was heading somewhere. Kenan was trying to get McConaughey to sing the blues, but to no avail as he went on to sing about his haircut, and other petty things. It ended with him saying that he lost out on millions on facebook....so he had a sad story after-all. The payoff just wasn't worth it in the end. (5.0)

3D Print Man: Well...this was a weird idea for a sketch. A crowd had to try and tell the difference between 3 men on who was actually 3D-printed. Despite Matthew really trying to sell this, this sketch never really hit into gear. (4.6)

Star Wars Auditions (short): Should have seen that this type of sketch was on its way too. This was mainly a vehicle for celebrity impressions, but what made this were the cameos thrown in there (Michael Buble, Jon Hamm, Emma Stone, and the Star Wars cast). Having J.J Abrams and some of the cast may have caused this to lose a little punch, but there were just so many great moments. From Taran Killam as David Beckham drop-kicking BB-8.....to Bobby Moynihan as George Lucas. (8.0)

Adele: "Hello" (9.5)

Weekend Update: Colin Jost & Michael Che may have figured it out (famous last words), but they just seemed to click. When they're loose is when they're at their best. The writing was also particularly edgy, which the crowd seemed to like in their own way.

The first guest saw Vanessa Bayer as a Disney actress, Laura Parsons, reading the news. I can see this being a popular recurring Update character in the future, it was just fantastic.

The second guest was Kenan as David Ortiz, talking about his endorsement deals as he announces his 2016 retirement. This bit was a little wild, but it worked in the end. (My only criticism is that....David Ortiz does know English pretty well..which this Update joke seems to think isn't always the case. So that's a little bizarre).

Overall, this was a Weekend Update for the ages. (8.8)

Should You Chime In On This?: A game-show sketch, this was taking on the myriad of opinions we see on social media and the like on foreign policy, politics, etc. While this was a good idea on paper, it just didn't play out that well. Maybe the contestants seemed a little too on the nose, but it didn't quite work, which is a shame. (5.8)

Right Side Of The Bed: Maybe this is the new "Girlfriend talk show", but this is the 3rd iteration of "right side of the bed" with Killam and Strong. The only thing that really saved this was McConaughey's character, who was high on fumes playing around with a turkey. All in all though, I just don't get why SNL is making this a recurring sketch. (5.5)

Adele: "When We Were Young" (9.9)

Town Hall Meeting: Another town hall sketch, this one was on a proposed Amtrak stop, but McConaughey's character wasn't feeling it. This sketch was a little wild (given the 10 to 1 spot), but much like the 2nd half of the show, it just kind of dragged without a real point. (5.8)

This week saw a rare feat, where the show was headlined by Update. Jost + Che were really in form, despite a mixed show. Overall, nothing was really bad, but a lot of the ideas just didn't hit quite right. But with Adele's brilliance, everything was just alright. 

Overall Score - 7.13


Tracy Morgan - 7.94
Elizabeth Banks - 7.53
Amy Schumer - 7.18

Matthew McConaughey - 7.13
Miley Cyrus - 6.07
Donald Trump - 4.92

SNL Season 41 Ep.5

Coming off last week's disastrous Donald Trump show, would SNL rebound with Elizabeth Banks? Onto the review

Cold Open (Paris Tribute): Coming off Friday's devastating attacks in Paris, I was wondering how SNL would handle it. This was a nice and fitting tribute by Cecily Strong, done in both English and French. It was nice and to the point. 

         



Monologue: The show then got going with Elizabeth Banks' monologue. They could have easily gone with a Hunger Games related one, but they did something different. Instead, it was a monologue on how she's recently gotten into directing, and wanted to direct her own monologue. It took a little bit to get into, but when it started rolling, Banks was just great. Our lives could use more star swipes.
(8.5)

Aron's List: An "ad" for "Aron's List"......America's Register of Non-Violent Sex Offenders; it was fine. It wasn't really anything new for SNL and seemed a little out of left field, but there wasn't anything incredibly offensive (although some of the offenses they listed were a little suspect as being minor). But as I said, all in all, this was fine. (7.0)


Black Jeopardy: Recent recurring sketches were a theme of the night, starting with the return of Black Jeopardy (last seen during Louis CK's show last season). While not quite topping the 1st, this one was still pretty good. Sasheer Zamata in particular really got a chance to shine. I also thought this was a good take on cultural appropriation with Banks' character, who thought she belonged there...(not going to get into that specific topic, which would take a while). There was a lot of good writing here, stuff that wouldn't quite fit in anywhere else, like say in Weekend Update. (8.0)                                   



"Fist Got Horny 2 U" (short): The women of SNL (Strong/Kate McKinnon/Vanessa Bayer/Aidy Bryant) plus Banks formed the girl group "Infinity +5" for a song about what first made them "feel feelings"...from Carson Daly and Mr. Sheffield from "The Nanny"....to the Menendez Brothers and the 90s sitcom "Dinosaurs". I loved that McKinnon got to play herself, stating how the Hanson brothers made her realize that she was "gay as hell". In terms of these type of shorts, this was far far better than last week's "Bad Girl Club". You could even make the case that this was better than last season's "Twin Bed". (8.6)
      




High School Theater Showcase: This was the 3rd incarnation of this sketch. It had the same general idea, but had more interactions with the parents, Bayer & Kenan Thompson. I liked how Leslie Jones just booked it out of there from the start. There were just a lot of great small moments, from "who run the world...whites", to Kate's "Sea world" monologue. This was better than the last version of this sketch. (8.2)
      



Disclosure ft/ Lorde "Magnets": (7.5)


Weekend Update: As seems to be the case with Update, as the show was going well, Colin Jost & Michael Che seemed to connect. They had a nice riff on the recent controversy with Yale, and Jost had a good "baby Hitler/Jeb Bush" line.

The first guest was Pete Davidson, as he talked about the recent "bathroom" uproar and the failed "HERO" equal right legislation in Houston. This was Pete's best Update appearance yet. He was actually making a point, instead of just throwing in some weed jokes. While he's been great on Update, he truly made a statement here.
          

The 2nd guest saw Kyle Mooney return as Bruce Chandling. This character seems to be a hit or miss, as it thrives in awkward moments. And while he's still not one of my favorite characters, I felt like this time it got more personal.

The 3rd guest saw Mckinnon return as Russian citizen Olya Polvlatsky. As I frequently mention, she's always great at what she does, and that was still true here. There were some truly great lines, like "did you fall from Heaven? Are my babies alright?". (7.5)


The Adventures Of Young Ben Carson: It was about time we got a sketch about Ben Carson. Jay Pharoah was just fantastic as Carson. He's really got that impersonation down. The great thing was that they didn't really have to make anything up here, they literally based and sourced everything on actual quotes from Ben Carson. Kenan was also great as "Black Jesus". (8.4)





Walk On Role: This sketch was based on a walk on role for Bobby Moynihan (who played a school principal) for a show called "The Bureau". The spin here was that he was playing the role of a pervert, and would be seen in countless promos. While everyone was committed here, it just didn't play out right. (5.1)


Disclosure ft/Sam Smith "Omen": (7.9)



Uber For Jen (Mike O'Brien Picture): Mike O'Brien returned with another short. He's now more of a freelance writer for SNL. Like with any O'Brien piece, this took a while to get into, but once it got going, it was pretty great. Mike was an uber driver for Elizabeth who took her on a journey of sorts, from hitting a guy, to the delivery of his child. It was overall well produced and well-made. (8.0)




Ghetto: This sketch featured the women of SNL, who were talking about "how ghetto" things were, until Banks started talking...who actually lived in a ghetto. The sketch made a good point on an over-used phrase, but it didn't quite mesh as it could have. (5.7)



From last week's horror-fest to Elizabeth Banks felt like a breath of fresh air. She was actually into it and felt like a cast member (which of course is always a good sign for an episode). The episode also reflected how good a mood the cast was in to move on from last week. All in all, this was a nice rebound season as Season 41 marches forward.

Overall Score - 7.53


Tracy Morgan - 7.94
Elizabeth Banks - 7.53
Amy Schumer - 7.18
Miley Cyrus - 6.07
Donald Trump - 4.92

SNL: Season 41 Ep.4

Through all the "hype", it finally arrived....the Donald Trump episode. So....how did it go? Well, I almost didn't want to even write this review, that's how it went. Onto the review.....(*sigh*)

MSNBC Dem Forum (Cold Open): With Cecily Strong as Maddow, the cold open saw SNL take on Friday's Dem Forum with Martin O'Malley (Taran Killam), Hillary Clinton (Kate McKinnon), and making his return, Larry David as Bernie Sanders. Larry David was the saving grace of this cold open. The writing was all over the place (appearing that they didn't even see the actual forum, which was actually full of tough questions). But all in all, this was alright, considering what was yet to come. (6.7)

Monologue: And then out came Donald Trump. Trump talked about "Rosie O'Donnell", who was actually Aidy Bryant, and then got flanked by 2 more Trumps (Killam and Darrell Hammond). It was just very blah. As scripted as it was, Larry David "heckling" Trump as a racist was really the only amusing part. (5.9)

Trump White House: Oy. This entire sketch (centering around what a Trump white house would look like, depicting how great it was) was a total disaster. It practically ended with a Trump campaign ad. One of the worst sketches in SNL history. (0.0)

Bad Girls (Short):  This short looked like it was trying to mimic the "Do It On My Twin Bed" series, but there just wasn't any bite to this. It was just very predictable and by the numbers....not to mention it went on forever. (2.8)

Live Tweet: Due to equal time restraints, Trump wasn't really in this sketch, but the premise was that he was live tweeting one. From ridiculing Killam, Vanessa Bayer, Strong, the entire cast here just felt trapped. The "tweets" weren't even clever, but just mean.....and kind of racist (in regards to Kenan Thompson). (3.0)

Hotline Bling Parody (Short): Beside the musical guest, this was pretty much the only saving grace of the night. Jay Pharoah was fantastic as Drake (he's usually great). We also got a tremendous cameo from Martin Short as "Ed Grimley". Heck, even Trump was pretty good here. (8.0)

       



Sia - "Alive": (8.1)


Weekend Update: Colin Jost & Michael Che pretty much set the tone when they stumbled with their intro. The jokes just fell flat (especially when they tried to mention the Trump Protests outside the studio, and Che whispering a Trump birther joke).

As the first guest, even Leslie Jones wasn't able to connect or get anything going with Jost.

Drunk Uncle (Bobby Moynihan) finally made an appearance, but it was a little on the nose as he discussed as he was a Trump supporter (with a random disparaging Caitlyn Jenner joke thrown in there to boot). (5.5)



Laser Harp (Rock Band): This was one of those sketches that might have worked with a host that was actually present, but it just fell flat here. Trump played a laser harp player who wanted a longer solo.....and that was pretty much it. (3.1)



Mr. Crocker (Short): Beck Bennett played a dad who recorded current pop songs, looking for a record deal. Donald Trump, as the executive kind of looked like a poor man's "Bruce Dickinson". (3.5)


Sia - "Bird Set Free": (8.8)



Porn Stars: This recurring sketch with Bayer & Strong can be hit or miss. When the show's going well, and with the right host, these can be hysterical......but this week wasn't the case. And that's all I'll say about this. (3.6)



Hurray, the review is finally over. But man oh man, was this a rough show. It was as miserable as I anticipated (maybe even worse). You could tell none of the cast was really into it. Larry David & Sia were the only ones able to really provide any sort of life into this week's show (beside Jay Pharoah's Hotling Bling parody). SNL will certainly take a hit with this show, but they should be able to bounce back in the next 2 weeks with Elizabeth Banks and Matthew McConaughey.....(and don't forget about Adele as the musical guest in 2 weeks). But until then...lets just forget that this week's show happened.

Overall Score - 4.92


Tracy Morgan - 7.94
Amy Schumer - 7.18
Miley Cyrus - 6.07
Donald Trump - 4.92

2015 World Series Preview

History will be made this world series. The Kansas City Royals and New York Mets both have championship droughts dating back to the 1980s (1985 - Royals, 1986- Mets). Each team is built differently, Mets with starting pitching, Royals with a lockdown bullpen. So who has the edge position-wise?

(stats included include time spent with said team, i.e traded players)

C)

KC - Salvador Perez

RS: 531ABs/52R/138H/25 2B/21HR/70RBI  .260/.280/.426

PS: 36AB/7R/7H/1 2B/4HR/6RBI  .194/.293/.556

NYM - Travis D'Arnaud

RS: 239AB/31R/64H/14 2B/1 3B/12HR/41RBI  .268/.340/.485

PS: 34AB/5R/7H/3HR/6RBI  .206/.222/.471

Both catchers provide some pop, and both have had their struggles hitting-wise in the postseason. But here, you have to go with the proven vet, and one of the top catchers in the league.

Edge: KC

1B)

KC - Eric Hosmer

RS: 599AB/98R/178H/33 2B/5 3B/18HR/93RBI  .297/.363/.459

PS: 45AB/7R/10H/1 2B/1HR/11RBI  .222/.234/.311

NYM - Lucas Duda

RS: 471AB/67R/115H/33 2B/27HR/73RBI  .244/.352/.486

PS: 28AB/2R/6H/2 2B/1HR/6RBI  .214/.290/.393

Hosmer & Duda are both power threats at 1B, but Hosmer has the more consistent regular season.

Edge: KC

2B)

KC - Ben Zobrist

RS: 232AB/37R/66H/16 2B/1 3B/7HR/23RBI  .284/.364/.453

PS: 43AB/10R/14H/4 2B/2HR/6RBI  .326/.375/.558

NYM - Daniel Murphy

RS: 499AB/56R/140H/38 2B/2 3B/14HR/73RBI  .281/.322/.449

PS: 38AB/11R/16H/2 2B/7HR/11RBI  .421/.436/1.026

As good as Zobrist has been, Murphy has been other-worldly this post-season. We'll see if he can keep up the pace in the world series, but no question who has the edge here.

Edge: NYM

SS)

KC -  Alcides Escobar

RS: 612AB/76R/157H/20 2B/5 3B/3HR/47RBI  .257/.293/.320

PS: 44AB/9R/17H/3 2B/2 3B/0HR/5RBI  .386/.408/.545

NYM - Wilmer Flores

RS: 483AB/55R/127H/22 2B/16HR/59RBI  .263/.295/.408

PS: 24AB/2R/7H/2 2B/1 3B/0HR/0RBI  .292/.370/.458

Flores is the slugging SS, while Escobar has more speed. They each bring something to the table.

Edge: Draw

3B)

KC - Mike Moustakas

RS: 549AB/73R/156H/34 2B/1 3B/22HR/82RBI  .284/.348/.470

PS: 42AB/4R/7H/1 2B/1HR/5RBI  .167/.217/.262

NYM- David Wright

RS: 152AB/24R/44H/7 2B/5HR/17RBI  .289/.379/.434

PS: 30AB/6R/5H/2 2B/0HR/3RBI  .167/.359/.233

Each has struggled during the post-season, but Moustakas was the more reliable presence in the regular season, as Wright was sidelined for a good portion of the season with a back injury.

Edge: KC

LF)

KC - Alex Gordon

RS: 354AB/40R/96H/18 2B/13HR/48RBI  .271/.377/.432

PS: 36AB/7R/9H/3 2B/1HR/3RBI  .250/.325/.417

NYM - Michael Conforto

RS: 174AB/30R/47H/14 2B/9HR/26RBI  .270/.335/.506

PS: 15AB/1R/1H/1HR/2RBI  .067/.167/.267

Conforto had a pretty impressive rookie season, but has struggled in limited post-season action. Meanwhile, Gordon has just done what's normal of him.

Edge: KC

CF)

KC - Lorenzo Cain

RS: 551AB/101R/169H/34 2B/6 3B/16HR/72RBI  .307/.361/.427

PS: 40AB/8R/11H/1 2B/1HR/7RBI  .275/.375/.375 

NYM - Yoenis Cespedes

RS: 230AB/39R/66H/14 2B/4 3B/17HR/44RBI  .287/.337/.604

PS: 34AB/6R/9H/1 2B/2HR/7RBI  .265/.286/.471

Cain has kept his progression and is now arguably one of, if not the top all-around player for Kansas City. Meanwhile, Cespedes (traded to the Mets on the deadline) has sparked the Mets offense and has helped to lead them to where they are now.

Edge: Draw

RF)

KC - Alex Rios

RS: 385AB/40R/98H/22 2B/2 3B/4HR/32RBI  .255/.287/.353

PS: 33AB/4R/11H/2 2B/1HR/5RBI  .333/.389/.485

NYM - Curtis Granderson

RS: 580AB/98R/150H/33 2B/2 3B/26HR/70RBI  .259/.264/.457

PS: 33AB/4R/10H/2 2B/0HR/7RBI  .303/.385/.364

Rios has had a nice post-season, but Granderson has gotten his power back for the Mets.

Edge: NYM

SPs)

KC - Yordano Ventura/Edinson Volquez/Johnny Cueto/Chris Young

NYM - Jacob DeGrom/Noah Syndergaard/Matt Harvey/Steven Matz

Each team has their flame-throwing SPs, but this is no contest. The Mets rotation flat out dominated the Cubs in the NLCS. 

Edge: NYM

RPs)

KC - Wade Davis/Luke Hocheaver/Kelvin Herrera/Franklin Morales/Danny Duffy/Ryan Madson

NYM - Jeurys Familia/Hansel Robles/Jon Niese/Erik Goeddel/Addison Reed/Bartolo Colon/Tyler Clippard

As good as the Mets SP, that's as dominating as the Royals BP is. From Madson, to Herrera and finally Davis, they have a shutdown bridge to close out games.

Edge: KC

So with all the breakdowns, time to get to my pick. Each team is pretty evenly matched, though when it comes to the lineup, I think the Royals have the edge. What this series will come down to is pitching. Can the Mets starters keep up their dominance, and can their offense jump to a lead? Close games should favor the Royals with their sterling BP. I think this series is going to go to the brink, but I pick the Royals In 7