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SAVAGES!
SAVAGES!
Hello, everyone and welcome back to... whatever the hell this is that continues to (depending on the sketch, musical performance or edition of Weekend Update) shit or gargle on the (oftentimes) great, Emmy-winning name of Saturday Night Live for the advancement or detriment of my blog, depending on who you are.
So... 2020, huh? This year has been nothing short of a quiet, empty, miserable hellscape on Earth. Not only has the world been ravaged by a silent, invisible but fatal disease that has wiped out millions of people, but life in the USA under Trump continued to fall into a shithole (and not only as over 200K. Many people have lost jobs or were furloughed, families have lost their homes, and millions have feared leaving their homes. And yet it kept getting worse. Millions of idiots refuse to mask up and social distance, and moronic government officials aren't doing their jobs to protect their constituents while sticking their heads high up 45s anus. And now...Trump has it... We're the greatest country in the world, ad yet we're the worst in responding to COVID. Or maybe that's part of our moniker...?
Meanwhile, Black people still can't live without domestic terrorists-- I mean police officers -- I mean the other one ruining everything. Just this summer we lost George Floyd and Beonna Taylor, and almost lost Jacob Blake (who got shot in the back by a fucking coward), and two more people by a pathetic puke of 17 who shouldn't have even been in another state at the time. Add to that peaceful protests in response to these tragedies turning into local productions of Apocalypse Now, and people of color continue to release this country doesn't love them back sometimes.
These are two of the reasons the rest of the planet sees us as a perfect-storm tragicomedy. You laugh then feel sorry... Then laugh again.
Laugh? Oh yeah, Saturday Night Live. Let's go back to the back half of season 45. Everything's going smooth, the cast is still top-notch, the guests are A+ and the sketches are still Family Feud on YouTube hot. Then came March. I was in New York for the week after hearing about Caronavirus, and I still kept careful. I even got to tour NBC Studios -- including 8H. But I never knew I'd be one of the under 300 strangers who actually got to go into the studio. After the March 7 episode (which was a great episode that actually parodied the then-epidemic in one sketch and featured great performances by The Weeknd), SNL and every other show on TV of any kind went into shutdown, with no way of knowing when they'll be back in studio. Fortunately, thanks to the ingenuity of the cast and crew, the Internet and technology, and especially Zoom, they came back hot and strong with a trilogy of episodes taped and produced (not live) from their homes. Featuring appearances from Tom Hanks (the first well-known celebrity to come out with COVID), Brad Pitt, Chris Martin, Miley Cyrus, Boyz II Men and former cast member Kristen Wiig among many others helping out any way they can. They were very good, surprisingly well produced, impressively well-acted and shows no matter what, SNL comes through when we need it the most. Including now.
We're in an election year (the first debate was Tuesday, and I didn't waste a minute of my life watching) and we're still deep in COVID crap. And now that even the President has it, there is so much uncertainty going around. And it couldn't have been a much better time for SNL to come back to 8H they way it did.
And coming back with ir? Everyone from last season. Yep, everybody's back. Amongst them: Kenan Thompson continues his streak as the longest running cast member; Kate McKinnon signed a new contract to stay a few more years (shocking everyone who thought she'd leave to a big-time Hollywood career, me included); Ego Nwodim is now a full-fledged Not Ready for Prime Time Player (congratulations), and Colin Jost and Michael Che back for more Weekend Update. Plus, joining Chloe Fineman and Bowen Yang in thr featured nook are: staff writer Andrew Dismukes (a brilliamt composer I shall root for because we share a name), Upright Citizens Brigade grad Lauren Holt (another transplant from the iconic comedy troupe) and stand-up comedian Punkie Johnson (no doubt an awesome pickup. And I WILL shout "Punkie Power!" once an episode). Congrats to all three newbies and here's to a long lasting tenure inside Studio 8H.
Also joining the cast for a while (depending on the continuation of the campaign) is Jim Carrey as Democratic nominee Joe Biden (the fourth man to do so) and former cast member and recent double Emmy winner Maya Rudolph in her very popular role of Vice President nominee Kamala Harris. I hope they'll last very long. And back in the only role he needs anymore (nope not even host of Match Game), Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump. Probably not tonight though.
Now to the reasons most of us are watching the premiere.
Returning to his old stomping grounds, comedian and actor Chris Rock makes his repeat appearance as host. You know who he is so I won't get into his work. But his return to acting takes a deeper turn to drama as the star of the fourth season of the TV adaptation of Fargo. I've known he's doing fantastic so far, so I will show him and the show my full support. And I cannot wait for him to riff on everything in the world this year in his monologue.
And our first musical guest of the season is rap superstar Megan Thee Stallion. While she may be a revelation to many, I just see her as a pure-black Nicki Minaj. Her music isn't all that to me, her style is too revealing and her music isn't anything special. To her credit, she hasn't outright annoyed or offended me like Nicki and her raps are pretty good half the time (I have been bumping "Savage" repeatedly since her debut at the BET Awards, and I'm happy it topped the Billboard Hot 100). So I'm actually looking foward to her performances. She also has another song that's a #1 hit, so maybe she'll be joined by some guests. Or maybe she'll have her moment on the biggest platform for musical guests on the East Coast. Anything to take our minds off her being shot in the leg by that punk-ass fiend Tory Lanez. At least I hope for a brutal diss right back.
And with that already long indictment, goodnight everybody! Just kidding. After months of anticipation and curiosity as to whether everyone will be back in studio and what they will tackle during their return (under COVID safety guidelines of course), we now finally see the results. HERE WE GO!
And of course the Cold Open is on the first debate with plenty of forgone conclusions. Out of the gate, Carrey is perfect casting as Biden. He's got the look and the voice down, and he doesn't miss a sketch comedy beat with his iconic on-brand zaniness. The pacing was a bit flat, the direction was strange (I'll give Don Roy King a pass since its been a while since he's been in studio and the jokes are pretty much), and it feels like watching the damn thing over again (that was a joke too). But it was a pleasant enough start. Beck Bennett does a good job as Chris Matthews, I adored the appearance of Harry Styles and Cecily Strong as Kimberly Guilfoyle, and as expected Rudolph was fire as Harris. Hopefully things will zing stronger in the next debate. The pause on Trump was brilliant.
God, it feels so good to hear the laughs, cheers and applause of the studio audience.
Yes, new open! It's beautiful, vibrant, warm, intimate and sweet. It still featured the sights of New York and the cast, but in black and white, with their names in color and in cusive to show things are still good within the world. Reminds me of the open of the Dick Ebersol era, but revitalized. Great job, everyone involved. I guess Mary Ellen Matthews and company.
Chris Rock is back with his trademark brash, urban relatable humor. His zingers include dissing Trump and showing sympathy for the virus, disgust and apathy for the government, the state of mainstream news and how we can change the state of the country if we try.
Rock never misses a step and kept us focused on the punchlines. It's honestly needed and I totally appreciate him not holding back. His quoting James Baldwin at the end of the mono was breathtaking. This is going to be great.
The Sketch After of course tackles COVID. At first. But soon after devolves into jokes about people with unfortunate names. If I was younger, my head would explode. At the many names I'd have to wonder why they're so funny. But it is funny body humor that while childish is pretty laugh-out-loud still. The wordplay is clever and surprisingly almost none of it is cringe.
And now from wondering who the fuck would name their offspring such garbage to what is under those pretty-ish eyes.
"Bottom of Your Face" is a fantastic pre-tape featuring Kenan, Chris Redd, and Pete Dave.
Next, some loser mooch named Zack in 2000 is playing Tony Hawk Pro Skater when a ghost from the future came to warn him of 2020. There's a nice bait and switch where Zack isn't focused on his future of a pathetic sexist loser mooch .
I love this pretape that brilliantly mocks the Drew Barrymore Show - the new talk show hosted by actress, 80s icon, 90s disaster, late 90s success story and 2000s and onward sweetheart Drew Barrymore. It's horrifyingly onpoint with its zigzagged tone and overall segments and direction and has everything about the set scarily recreated to the last detail. Chloe Fineman (please correct me if I'm wrong) played Barrymore to the hilt and actually had me on the floor near tears. This is the best pre-tape on a technical and theatrical level and everyone deserves awards for how well they mirror the actual show (which I watch and find really good but I never noticed how lopsided it is). Wow, these guys are great.
Megan Thee Stallion makes her SNL debut with what has to be a very powerful performance of the remix of Savage. Clad in pop art regalia with her dancers in front of a beautiful LED screen showing a harrowing but important message "Protect Our Women" before expanding on the message with disheartening graphic of gunshot glass and a tearjerking speech by the sister of Beonna Taylor and speaking with an equally-powerful message asking us to protect black women and men, which... Isn't too much to ask these days, shouldn't it? I expected nothing less from Megan and she delivered with aplumb and pizzaz. Two words I'd never use with a rap artist.
Weekend Update returned with Jost and Che back on their bullshit. And I mean this in the nicest and most cheerful way possible. They mostly tackled Trump at Walter Reed Medical Center under COVID, but also dinged at other news that I found hilarious but forgot soon after. Bowen Yang returned as Chen Bao and didn't miss a step in a his delicious cattiness in his tske on the attempted government block on Chinese owned TikTok and Aidy Bryant perfecfly played a 7th grader doing virtual schooling and being distressed at home. A great start another new season of Weekend Update, which ended with a beautiful, respectful and heartwarming tribute by Kate McKinnon to the late Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Definitely brought a tear and would've made Notorious RBG proud like the performances as her.
The NBA: the place where not only players can make waves and make history with their talents, but also make Instagram pages harden with their side pieces. Introducing the Bubble Draft, where wives, girlfriends and dime pieces can battle to be in the quarantine arena while their significant others (or in the cases of the hoes, insignificants) play thr game they have to to desperate people who can't wait until next year and watch literally anything else. It was a good sketch. Not great, but feels a like sketch they has to bypass dress because of the budget.
There was a sketch on stunt doubles, but the focus was on two who use their asses for funny stunts. That was both chuckleworthy and stupid.
And finally, Megan TS returned with "Pop That Cat". I'd tell you what it's about, but you already knew. And because the techo/steampunk-lite beat drowms it all out. While I wouldn't listen to it again (especially as Young Thug is featured, thank God I can't make out shat he spoke if I tried-not that I want to.), I damn sure enjoyed the background dancers pole dancing. I'd pay/throw good money for that, but I'll settle for watching it again on Youtube.
Okay, my verdict. It was fine. It was good. But it was missing some punch, drive, tight narrative and concrete direction. While not outright sloppy, the episode felt like a dress rehearsal we got to see on-air. The scripts were barely cooked and a little overdone but laughs were found although barely landed. And there's this pause throughout that threw me off a bit a bit at points. But like DRK, I'll give them a pass. The set and control room hasn't been touched since March 8, and there is a bit of understandable rust for the staff since then, and since their return they had to make changes to keep themselves and the audience safe (Most of the staff is in The Tonight Show's studio 6B. I commend them for their efforts, but I do expect them to iron out the kinks come next week and the weeks to come.
The cast are back to normal and are back refreshed and reenera. While they got a brief peek in the Bubble Draft sketch (and maybe the Action News skit), the threee newbies held it down quite well, and I can't wait to see them shine down the road.
As for Megan Thee Stallion, it'll be a while before I willingly listen to her music again. But I enjoyed her antics on stage and will enjoy more when she appears on a live show someday soon.
As for host Chris Rock... He was great. When he wasn't looking off camera and on the cue cards, which was highly distracting. I hope he wasn't nervous about hosting the first SNL under a pandemic; he wasn't panicky and was able to do well (awkward half-second pauses aside). We needed a comedic force to help guide us through these tough times without holding our hands too hard, and Rock was clearly it. This episode, Chile not a bombastic start to Season 46, was great enough to tread through this new normal very nicely, and I will say, held me over to watch the rest of the season. Or at least watch the new open live again.
UPDATE (10/7):
Next week, our host will make his 8H debut. The master of ceremony is comedian, podcast host and star of Netflix animated sitcom F is for Family, Bill Burr.
Handling entertainment is ... not country newcomer yet already hitmaker Morgan Wallen. He was supposed to make his debut, but earlier in the week, video surfaced of Wallen attending a party with no one shown wearing masks or social distancing. Instead he hugged and kissed fans. Totally irresponsible. The producers then announced that Wallen's appearance was cancelled. Smooth move, dude.
UPDATE 2 (10/9):
Speaking of smooth, this was down to the wire, but it was pretty quick and not at all a bad choice. Early this morning, creator Lorne Michaels revealed to Today's Willie Geist that Jack White will return to Studio 8H for another round of rockin' and a rollin'. Cannot wait.
...and that'll do it for episode one of Saturday Night Live Review. Thank you for joining me and please stay safe. I'm Andrew Pollard, saying goodnight everyone and I'll see you all next week. Or else I'll track you down and I'LL PUT YOU THROUGH THAT FUCKING WALL!!
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