SNL Season 36
The Best And Worst
Best Cold Open
What could have been had they stuck with Vanessa as Hilary Clinton. She played the former First Lady twice this season and I enjoyed them both. Granted she barely spoke in them but her look of pure joy in Christmas Eve In Washington D.C. and the shot of her exiting a limo sans underwear in WikiLeaks: TMZ were hilarious. It’s always nice when the show has a topical cold open that’s also funny like Selection Sunday where crazy people in the news are pitted against each other March Madness style. Then of course there’s the nostalgia filled fun of opening the Dana Carvey episode with the return of Wayne’s World.
Worst Cold Open
Embracing Civility had James Carville coming into mug it up but that felt like a desperate attempt to give any energy to a dull cold open about Fox News anchors trying to be nice. China Press Conference loses points for being a carbon copy of a cold open from last season. And if you want a lifeless cold open then hand the ball to Fred as Obama in Reid Rally or as Michael Bloomberg in A Message From The Mayor or in Osama Bin Laden Video Will.
Best Monologue
Zach Galifianakis could place in the top 10 of all time with his Annie inspired monologue. Justin Timberlake sang about not singing. Dana Carvey was joined by Jon Lovitz to sing the praises of their era of SNL. Robert DeNiro had some goons rough up audience members who question him. And we saw Amy Poehler’s anxiety dream about hosting.
Worst Monologue
Season 36 loved itself a musical monologue. My least favorite was Miley Cyrus and her song about how she’s not perfect and smokes weed. That’s probably the old man in me talking but I couldn’t care less about the drug habits of a millionaire child. Gwyneth Paltrow warbled Islands In The Streams with Kenny Rogers. Scarlett Johansson sang about tabloid sensations. Bryan Cranston sang about how nobody knows his name. And Helen Mirren sang There Is Nothing Like A Dame from South Pacific.
Best Commercial
The Original Kings Of Catchphrase Comedy introduced us to Slappy Pappy, Fur Coat Rhonda, and White Bernie Mac. Corn Syrup Producers Of America reminded us to keep our mouths shut about high fructose corn syrup. Back To The Future 25th Anniversary DVD showed exclusive auditions from Alan Alda, Al Pacino, Eddie Murphy, and more. Mega-Mart kicked Black Friday savings into high gear. And The Abacus Conundrum is the hottest selling book with some really good words in it.
Worst Commercial
Even if you don’t think Once Daily Estro-Maxx is transphobic, you also can’t call it funny. It’s just guys with boobs.
Best Sketch
I only gave two 5 Star ratings this season. There were plenty of good sketches but not a lot that hit that ‘classic’ mark. Top honors go to Knights Of The Realm where the likes of Sir Elton John and Sir Michael Caine deal with a loose dragon and The New Boyfriend Talk Show where Andy interviews guys who leave his mom’s bedroom. Kudos for not making that sketch recurring as it easily could have been repeated. The next three sketches got 4 Stars from me but they feel at home on a Best Of list. The Monty Python-esque Royal Taster from the Russell Brand episode, Paul Brittain’s main showcase "Sex" Ed Vincent's Sex Symposium, and from the Zach Galifianakis episode, Noodles, where the kids are given the bad news about the family dog.
Worst Sketch
I’ve seen a lot of bad SNL sketches and one of the worst of all time is St. Kat's Middle. I remember catching the Scarlett Johansson episode live during a time when I was only casually watching the show. I couldn’t believe Kenan was still on the show and felt correct in my decision to not watch this show religiously. Let’s stay on the Kenan train and talk about Kid Smartz where he plays a sassy girl who refuses to kiss a game show host. Or Pageant Preview where he and Dana Carvey play gay stereotypes. Or Our Time! the talk show hosted by the two other guys from The Black Eyed Peas. He’s also one of the people who gets animal poo on their face in Spa Talk but that’s a Kristen whiff.
Also making the cut of sketches I never want to see again, two that rely on the old man-on-man kiss for a laugh with Highway Cops with Jason locking lips with Jon Hamm and The Silver Screen with Taran smooching it up with Elton John. Then there’s the king of shitty sketches Fred who gave us a guy who looks like Frankenstein’s Monster in Mary Shelley and two sketches where he plays oddball characters cut from famous films in The Essentials: The Sound Of Music where he plays a Freddie Prinze-esque stand-up and The Essentials where he ruins The Wizard Of Oz.
Best Recurring Sketch
What's That Name? feels like a sketch that shouldn’t be repeated but they managed to make the second outing as fun as the first. Herb Welch made his first, second, and third appearances this season. Merryville Trolley Ride is another sketch that should have diminishing returns but the follow-up was better than the debut. Les Jeunes de Paris had its premiere this season and What Up With That? had it’s 5th, 6th, and 7th go-round.
Worst Recurring Sketch
We’re still doing The View after more than 10 years? Rodger Brush made 2 appearances this season just so Fred could waste some moments of my day. He also gave us the 3rd Manuel Ortiz Show, and thankfully only one made it to air this season. We got Secret Word three times, each one exactly the same. And we got the 4th appearance of Gilly, a sketch that instantly lost all goodwill after it’s first outing.
Best Digital Short
Sure, it does kinda feel like The Lonely Island are using the show to shamelessly promote their new album but I can’t complain when they’re bangers like I Just Had Sex and Jack Sparrow. We also got the 6th adventure of Nitro and Admiral Spaceship in Laser Cats: The Musical!, the glorious stupidity of Stumblin', and the epic Party At Mr. Bernard's.
Worst Digital Short
What Was That? was weak but it also had the misfortune of following St. Kat’s Middle, when comedy died. I Broke My Arm was probably my least favorite, a non-sensical and repetitive song involving broken limbs and grape jelly. I’m also not a fan of The Creep, the song isn’t that good and doesn’t work without the visuals. Then there’s the debut and end of Declan in The Roommate and Beastly with Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus.
Best Musical Guest
Paul McCartney upstaged his fellow Paul, Mr. Rudd. Bruno Mars always puts on a solid show. I’m more mixed on Kanye West but he delivered in the Bryan Cranston episode. Rihanna brought the house down in the Jon Hamm episode and I can’t say I’m familiar with Jessie J but she definitely added bonus points to my favorite show of the season.
Worst Musical Guest
It’s probably Linkin Park or Chris Brown but I didn’t really dislike any this season so I’ll single out the Bar Mitvah sketch from the Gwyneth Paltrow episode. We did get the debut of Jacob, The Bar Mitzvah Boy but also got lame parody songs from impressions of Taylor Swift, Jay-Z, and Katy Perry with Cee Lo Green as himself.
Best Weekend Update Desk Piece
We got some second hand news from Anthony Crispino, commentary on The Westboro Baptist Church and Osama Bin Laden from The Devil, numerous club recommendations from Stefon, a list of things John Mulaney loves, and we got in the cage with Nicolas Cage.
Worst Weekend Update Desk Piece
Nothing makes me roll my eyes faster when I see it than Garth & Kat who only made 3 appearances this season but it felt like 47. Fred was deadly on Update this season, not just Garth but Gov. David Paterson, Muammer Kadaffi, and Hosni Mubarak twice. Last slot goes to Angela Dixon, the disco meteorologist.
Best Host
I’m as surprised as anyone that Robert DeNiro makes the list. He’s usually a black hole of comedy but his third outing gave me everything I’m looking for from the two-time Oscar winner. Justin Timberlake brought a ton of energy to the season finale. Zach Galifianakis hosted my favorite episode of the season. Not sure why this is the last time we saw Jon Hamm host since he was just as good as his first two times. And Russell Brand brought a Monty Python like energy and time to the show that was certainly unique.
Worst Host
Everything was going great in the Elton John episode until they started letting him show up in sketches. Similarly, I think Miley Cyrus should stick to being the musical guest. Then we have three Oscar winners, the unfunny Gwyneth Paltrow, the stiff and dull Helen Mirren, and the totally out of his element Jeff Bridges. Live TV ain’t for everyone.
Best Sketch Averages
3.8 Stars - Zach Galifianakis / Jessie J
3.6 Stars - Robert DeNiro / Diddy-Dirty Money
3.2 Stars - Paul Rudd / Paul McCartney
Worst Sketch Averages
1.8 Star - Gwyneth Paltrow / Cee Lo Green
2 Stars - Scarlett Johansson / Arcade Fire
2.1 Stars - Miley Cyrus / The Strokes
Season Sketch Average
2.8 Stars
I found the Black Eyed Peas sketch funny
ReplyDelete