SNL: Justin Timberlake(3/9)

OMG people, if you missed this episode for whatever reason, go and watch it right now...else you can just check out all the clips I’ll be embedding, because there was a LOT of good tonight.

Let’s jump right in, shall we?


The Good


Monologue(8)-This wasn’t so much a monologue as a ‘look at all the other funny people we can smash into one 5 minute segment,’ but damn it all if it didn’t work really well.  There were some od moments that kind of made me go ‘huh?’ but other that that, it was great.  Oh, and JT totally ragged on the internet: “You get to inevitably let everyone down thanks to overly high expectations...Thanks internet!”  

SNL: Kevin Hart/Macklemore&Ryan Lewis(3/2)

Wow, this episode was literally a snoozefest, as I fell asleep within three sketches. And since I’m a slacker, I didn’t even get back to it until just now.

Let’s jump right into this terrible terrible episode, shall we?

Starting with...

The Meh

Cold Open-Presidential Press Conference(4)-Best line: “I could explain in financial terms, or in human terms, but since I really have no idea about how money works, or budgets works, I’ll go with human terms.”  This was basically the long way to get to a YMCA joke, so there’s that?

Staff Meeting(4): This sketch gets less and less funny every time it is rolled out.  And the host not being able to hold it together at this clearly unfunny sketch made it even worse.

Weekend Update: Segments(6)-Nothing really memorable, but I did get a  few laughs.

The Ugly

Monologue(2): This is where EVERYTHING started to go downhill, since it was probably the worst monologue I’ve seen this season.  Apparently, Kevin Hart is a stand up comedian, but I would never have guessed from his delivery.  It was unfunny and far too mean and yelly to boot.

The Steve Harvey Show(3): The joke is Steve is afraid of horses, or something?  That was an incredibly weak sketch to open the episode with.

The Situation Room(2): Quvenzhane Wallis is the new Pope, for reasons.  It’s about as unfunny as you would guess.

WE Segments(3): From a yelly Bobby Moinahan to a host who still can’t keep a straight face, not to mention be arsed to read the cue card properly, this was so bad it barely deserves to be mentioned.

The Walking Dead(3): Race card obnoxiousness at it’s worst.  TWD doesn’t really appeal to me anyway, but when the writers feel the need to explain the joke during the sketch, it just goes from bad to worse.

Shark Tank(1): I don’t get it

Z-Shirts(1):What?? It’s funny cause the guy was a robot, or something?  Stupid premise for a stupid sketch

Recording Session(3): God, that was terrible.  If it weren’t so spot on to a certain persuasion of people’s actual thinking, it actually would be laughable.

Funeral(1): WTFFF again!

360 News(3): God, the last half of this show was seriously the worst.  This got a slight bump from everyone telling the host he was the worst(not in so many words, of course)

The Rest

As I alluded to in the various segments, Kevin Hart was possibly the worst host this season, rivaling Adam Levine in terribleness.  He yelled all his lines, and didn’t bother to learn any of them, as his blatant cue card reading showed.  He couldn’t even keep himself together in a horribly unfunny sketch, and yet, people in the audience were still laughing.  



Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were fine for what they are, a rapping duo.  Since I’m not to into that kind of music, it was kind of a whatever moment for me.




Though it was interesting during the live broadcast, Macklemore’s microphone didn’t seem to be leveled properly, because I could barely hear him, and the horns were way too dominant in a song that is much more about wordplay than backing tracks.




With an average score of 3, this show is not going to be on the pile of good ones for the season, though we do have JT to look forward to tonight.  Let’s see how this episode stacks up.

1. 11/10 Anne Hathaway/Rihanna (6.60)
2. 12/15 Martin Short/Paul McCartney (5.90)
3. 11/3 Louis CK/fun. (5.89)
4. 11/17 Jeremy Renner/Maroon 5 (5.83)
5. 9/22 Joseph Gordon Levitt/Mumford & Sons (5.71)
6. 9/15 Seth McFarlane/Frank Ocean (5.38)
7. 10/13 Christina Applegate/Passion Pit (5.09)
8. 10/20 Bruno Mars (5)
9. 2/16 Christoph Waltz/Alabama Shakes (5)
10. 2/9 Justin Bieber (4.42)
11. 12/8 Jamie Foxx/Neyo (4.3)
12. 10/6 Daniel Craig/Muse (4)
13. 1/26 Adam Levine/Kendrik Lamar (3.38)
14. 1/19 Jennifer Lawrence/The Lumineers (3)
15. 3/2 Kevin Hart/Macklemore&Ryan Lewis (3)

SNL: Christoph Waltz/Alabama Shakes(2/16)

Ahh, that was much better.  I was loling at several sketches, and even some of the bad ones had a couple of things that made me giggle, so let’s jump into…

The Good

Cold Open: Carnival Cruise(7)-Who doesn’t like a poop joke, amirite?  Also, after newspapers were airdropped in: “Don’t worry, God doesn’t hate us.” “What’s in the news…the pope resigned! Oh Lord.”

Commercial: Djesus Uncrossed(7)-I was slightly offended by this, but I was laughing the whole time.

JaMarcus Brothers(7)-The songs titles killed me dead.

Weekend Update: Headlines(7)-Quite a few funny lines to be amused by, for sure.

The Meh

Monologue(6)-Cause Austrian stereotypes are funny, I guess?  I was kind of surprised they didn’t mention Arnold Schwarzenegger at all, but they did have casual Hitler, which bumped it up a point or two.

What Have You Become(5)-I was confused at first, I think a line was skipped or something, because we didn’t get the title of the game show until about a minute in, but then it was ok, I guess.  It was saved from the ugly by the strength of Aidy Bryant giving it right back, and Waltz dancing at the end.

Commercial: Papal Securities(4)-I…this could have been great, but there was something missing pretty hardcore, but I just cannot put my finger on it.

Housewarming Party(4)-This sketch had a funny premise, but it went on for way too long, and you could smell recurring character from a million miles away.

Weekend Update: Segments(5)-Marco Rubio and Steven A Smith were terrible(though Taran’s ‘need a drink’ screech was amusing), but Kate McKinnon killed it as a Russian peasant, and I would be remiss if I didn’t embed it, even though we’re in the mehs.

Secret Admirer(5)-Good concept again, but it literally went on for five minutes, and should have been two, or three at the most.   

The Ugly

Regine(2)-My only note on this is ‘God, I hate this sketch.’  The only reason it didn’t get a one was the breaking.

Fox and Friends(1)-Old, tired, and not even remotely funny.

The Rest

Christoph Waltz had a giddy performance, you could really tell he enjoyed being there, and getting to do some comedy.  He seemed to have a bit of a better grasp on the script than a few other hosts I could mention, and he didn’t hold back on anything.  I really enoyed his hosting job, and wouldn’t mind if he came back again.

The Alabama Shakes did a good enough job, I guess.  I’ve never heard their music before, and I wasn’t a huge fan, but it was decent.  The singer made some crazy faces, though, oh boy.  

This was a much better outing than the last two week for sure, let’s see how it stacks up, with a 5.00 score

1.  11/10 Anne Hathaway/Rihanna (6.60)

2.  12/15 Martin Short/Paul McCartney (5.90)

3.  11/3 Louis CK/fun. (5.89)

4.  11/17 Jeremy Renner/Maroon 5 (5.83)

5.  9/22 Joseph Gordon Levitt/Mumford & Sons (5.71)

6.  9/15 Seth McFarlane/Frank Ocean (5.38)

7.  10/13 Christina Applegate/Passion Pit (5.09)

8.  10/20 Bruno Mars (5)

9.  2/16 Christoph Waltz/Alabama Shakes (5)

10. 2/9 Justin Bieber (4.42)

11. 12/8 Jamie Foxx/Neyo (4.3)

12. 10/6 Daniel Craig/Muse (4)

13. 1/26 Adam Levine/Kendrik Lamar (3.38)

14. 1/19 Jennifer Lawrence/The Lumineers (3)

SNL: Justin Bieber(2/9)

The Biebs.  Bieber.  Bieber Fever.  I got none of that, and I fully expected this show to suck massive balls.  From everything I’ve seen of Justin Bieber, he seems like a giant tool, albeit one with a decent voice.  What I wasn’t expecting was a guy willing to completely make a fool of himself in some very surprising ways.  Let’s see how he did in…

The Good

None, surprisingly enough

The Meh

Cold Open: Superbol Blackout(5)-They  hit the standard beats of “oh, we have nothing to talk about,” but they did take it up a notch with Keenan’s character talking about how he never even watches 2 Broke Girls, which did get a giggle out of me.

Monologue(4)-My prediction of when the singing will start: 30 seconds in.  Pretty sure he actually started singing the second he walked on stage.  It was almost amusing how he failed at black history month facts, but then he kept hitting on girls, and his little fan club kept squealing, and it went south again.

The Californians(5)-This sketch was old the first time it aired, but it was nearly saved by the Biebs’ runaway character, and bumped up a few points for the reaction shot times six that Bill Hader had to endure at the end there.

Bieber Doubles(6)- I have one bit of transcript for you:

[Jason Sudekis introduces JB to his body doubles]

JB: “Two of them are black!  They aren’t fooling anyone!

Jason: “Yeah, well neither are you, homie”

Bravo Spinoffs(4)-Some of them were mildly amusing, but it went on for literally a million years, as per usual for SNL

Weekend Update: Headlines(5)-It was literally right down the middle on this one, and a week later, I don’t even remember any of the jokes.

Weekend Update: Segments(5)-They had the played out best friends, who were besties with Richard the III apparently, and it was not very good.  The one black guy in every commercial was pretty funny, but seemed ill prepared.

Miley Cyrus Show(4)-Glad this sketch has been moved from the post-monologue position, and the later spot led to lesser expectations, but I still didn’t get a whole lot out of this sketch.  Though “So that hurt a lot” after Miley practically got a book tattooed on her back made me giggle a bit.

Meet the family(5)-Taran Killan was doing his best to make JB break, and he succeeded.  The sketch, on the other hand?  Not great.

Valentine’s Dance(4)-I do not understand these sketches.  The impression veers into the mean category, and the supporting characters are rarely funny or even vaguely amusing.

The Ugly

High School Love(3)-The joke was that the Biebs was 11.  Cause that’s not gross or anything.

Valentine’s Message(3)-So gross, and not even remotely funny.

The Rest

I was pleasantly surprised at Justin’s willingness to make fun of himself, but the fact that the body doubles sketch isn’t available anywhere makes me think that he wasn’t as into it as he was pretending.

The music was ugh, as per expected, since JBiebs sings terrible songs.

Overall, this episode exceeded expectations.  However, when the expectations are as low as mine were, that is not saying much at all.  Let’s see how this show ranks, with an average score of 4.42.

1.  11/10 Anne Hathaway/Rihanna(6.60)

2.  12/15 Martin Short/Paul McCartney(5.90)

3.  11/3 Louis CK/fun. (5.89)

4.  11/17 Jeremy Renner/Maroon 5(5.83)

5.  9/22 Joseph Gordon Levitt/Mumford & Sons (5.71)

6.  9/15 Seth McFarlane/Frank Ocean (5.38)

7.  10/13 Christina Applegate/Passion Pit (5.09)

8.  10/20 Bruno Mars (5)

9.  2/9 Justin Bieber(4.42)

10. 12/8 Jamie Foxx/Neyo(4.3)

11. 10/6 Daniel Craig/Muse (4)

12. 1/26 Adam Levine/Kendrik Lamar(3.38)

13. 1/19 Jennifer Lawrence/The Lumineers(3)

SNL: Adam Levine/Kendrick Lamar(1/26)

Eeessh.  That was…not a good episode.  I’ll go through each of the sketches, but I don’t think there is going to be very much to write home about, unless you like reveling in stilted acting and good premises thrown in the trash.

Starting with…

The Good

Weekend Update: Headlines(7)-I laughed at 70% of the jokes, but it’s not like I actually remember any of them…

SNL: Jennifer Lawrence/The Lumineers(1/19)

I was up north last weekend for my sister's baby shower, and only caught the last three sketches live.  This week has been crazy, and I didn't get a chance to watch the rest of the episode til right now, so onward with...

The Good

Nada...this was a pretty terrible episode, and nothing rated above a 5 to me.

The Meh

Cold Open:Piers Morgan talk show(4)-This sketch epitomizes the quality of this episode.  There were so many missed opportunities, first with the Notre Dame guy, then with Jodi Foster, it was really unfortunate.

Monologue(5)-The jokes themselves could have been funny, but there was somethign really off about Jennifer Lawrence's delivery.  It felt like she was nervous, or holding back, cause the jokes didn't have the punch they needed to really hit.

Weekend Update: Headlines(4)-Six of fourteen jokes made me laugh.  It was really bad.

Top Dog Chef(4)-The only reason this sketch was bumped from the uglies was Vanessa Bayer's cat at the end.  This was just a painful sketch to watch.

Love Letters(4)-The concept was...amusing, but I do not find the new guy funny at all, and his execution kind of ruined the sketch for me.

SNL: Martin Short/Paul McCartney(12/15)

Well, that was a thing.  An amazing start lead quickly to a guest filled monologue that really didn’t deserve all the cameos it had.  I’ve never really found Martin Short all that funny, his shtick seems to be real life, but at 100 decibels.  If a line is funny, yelling it does not make it funnier.  If a line ISN’T funny, yelling it will only make me want to punch you in the face. Anyway, on with…

The Good

Cold Open:Children’s Choir(10)-I don’t think I’m ever going to give a ten again, and even though this wasn’t comedy, it was the perfect open to a show that had the unfortunate circumstance to originally air one day after the senseless events in Connecticut.

SNL: Jamie Foxx/Neyo(12/8)

Oh, my.  This was such a terrible episode, it took me four days to get it on paper.

Lets get right down to…

The Good

Maine Justice(7)-On it’s face, this sketch was weird.  A courtroom in Maine with it’s occupants acting like New Orleans debutants?  But the humor came from the absurdity, and it had it in spades.  It may be on in the top ten for the year so far, but it has been a rather slow year.

SNL: Jeremy Renner/Maroon 5(11/17)

This was kind of a meh episode.  None of the sketches were really that memorable, and I was bored through a lot of the show.  I wasn’t expecting a whole lot of Jeremy Renner, he didn’t seem like a very versatile actor, and that was verified during the show, for sure.

Lets get right into…

The Good

Commercial: Your Hometown Vacation(8)- It’s funny cause it’s true!

Weekend Update: Headlines(7)-This kind of encapsulated the meh of this show-I have it as a strong 70% funny, but I can’t remember a single joke.

Weekend Update: Segments(7)-These, on the other hand, were not forgettable, though I didn’t really get the Kat Williams one.  It was buoyed by a very strong appearance by the (real!) Chris Christie, even though that was a titch awkward.

The Avengers(7)-Hawkeye is useless.  It’s another funny cause it’s true!

SNL:Anne Hathaway/Rihanna

This seemed like a really strong episode, I was laughing through a bunch of the sketches, including ones I would normally think I wouldn’t like.  Of course, it helps that Anne Hathaway is an incredibly enthusiastic host, and did a great job on her third go at it.

Let’s get right into…

The Good

Cold Open:Mitt Romney(7)-Normally, I don’t like their Republican-based political sketches, but this wasn’t making fun of political beliefs, this was poking fun at mannerisms and things, and was actually very funny.  I about died on this line, where Mitt’s son is telling him about the goings on inside: “Paul Ryan’s doing feats of strength in the library, Mom thought you’d like to see!” “Yeah, well I’d like to see him carry Wisconsin!”

SNL:Louis CK/fun.(11/3)

This seemed like an exceptionally strong episode.  I was kind of expecting it to be, since Louis CK is a comedian, and theoretically is funny(I wouldn’t really know, I listened to one of his specials, and it was really hard to even pay attention to it, I was pretty bored).  Let jump down to the empirical evidence, and see if it holds up with…

The Good

Cold Open: Mayor Bloomberg’s Sandy address(7)-This was made for me by the Chris Christie impression, I really hope SNL pulls him out more, because there is a dearth of material one could pull from him, and it doesn’t need to be political bashing like they normally do for Republicans.  A close second was the New Jersey ASL translator.

SNL: Bruno Mars(10/20/12)

Well, that was an episode.  Tom Hanks showed up, for some reason, and Bruno Mars sang a lot.

Let’s look at the sketches from Saturday in…

The Good

Pandora break down(7)-The concept was good, if not terribly funny until the end, but it went on for a song or two too long.  We had Bruno doing covers of Green Day, Aerosmith, Katy Perry, Bieber, Louie Armstrong, and Michael Jackson, so the sketch was super long.  I don’t think it is on the NBC site, but you can probably find it on YouTube if you are so inclined.

Weekend Update: Headlines(8)-There were a ton of funny jokes tonight, and even the political ones were funny, for the most part, which is highly unusual for a SNL sketch.  I don’t actually remember any of them off the top of my head, but they were good for a quick laugh, at least.

SNL:10/13 Christina Applegate/Passion Pit

Well, that wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great, either.  Let’s see how everything played out in…

The Good

Tech Talk(7)-A group of internet iPhone reviewers get mocked by the makers of the iPhone, people from China.  I was very amused by the violin-type thing near the end.

Odysseus and the Sirens(7)-Odysseus, on his way back from his perils, has a run in with the sirens, who sing 90’s girly songs.  I’m not saying I was singing along or anything, but I totally was. (Unfortunately, this one isn't embeddable, but you can probably catch it on the full episode on NBC.com.

The Meh:

Cold Open:VP Debate(5)-Honestly, of all the things to rag on from the debate, and they go for Paul Ryan’s water drinking and widow’s peak?  They did hit on Biden a bit, but his obnoxiousness was cheered at instead of laughed at, and my faith in humanity is damaged again.

Monologue(6)-A song about the greatness that is the final weekend before holiday madness, this was cute, but only rated as high as it did due to Jason Sudekis’ Dane Cook.

Movie Trailer(5)-This was a showcase for just about everyone to show off an impression or four, but the payoff was not strong at all.

Weekend Update:Headlines(6)-Middling to okay at best, this was not a terribly strong night for headlines, but there were a few that made me laugh.

Weekend Update:Segments(5)-Arianna Huffington and Jean K Jean both made an appearance, and there were some funny lines, but they both went on waaaay too long, and really suffered for it.

Hell-oween Ball(5)-I really don’t understand this sketch, but it was saved from the ugly by one of the crowd callouts by Jay Pharoh.

Fossee Dance Studio(6)-This was kind of a strange sketch, but it was saved by Christina’s enthusiasm. 

The Ugly:

Commercial:Gillette(3)-I was very confused by this commercial.  Jerry Sandusky as a spokesperson with several other celebrities.  There were no laughs, and only weird looks all around.

The Californians(2)-This is still a terrible sketch, third time’s not the charm.

The Rest

The musical guest this week was decent.  I hadn’t heard them before, but their sound was tolerable, if a bit 80’s-sounding.  Christina Applegate did a great job, and was in nearly every sketch.  Her enthusiasm was palpable, and permeated through everything she was in.

All in all, a decent show, but dragged down by some odd quirks.  Overall, it scored a 5.09, so lets see how it ranked.

1. 9/22 Joseph Gordon Levitt/Mumford & Sons (5.71)

2. 9/15 Seth McFarlane/Frank Ocean (5.38)

3. 10/14 Christina Applegate/Passion Pit (5.09)

4. 10/6 Daniel Craig/Muse (4)

SNL: 10/6/12 Daniel Craig/Muse

Oh, my goodness, this episode was terrible.  Just about every single sketch fell completely flat, in the worst imaginable way possible.

We’ll get right into it, so as not to delay the misery.

The Good:

MSNBC Broadcast(7)-The highlight of the whole show, for me, and when you watch it, you will understand why this episode was just terrible.  The token conservative cracked me up, but Al Sharpton making excuses for Obama rang a little too true to be funny.

SNL: 9/22/12 Joseph Gordon Levitt/Mumford & Sons

This week’s episode of SNL was wrought with technical issues.  Production grabbed the wrong camera for a back and forth conversation, and the final sketch AND JGL’s sign-off were both cut short, right in the middle of a sentence for both of them, among other errors.  Not realy sure what was up with that, maybe a new producer?

Anyway, this show seemed a lot stronger than last week’s outing, so lets get right to the good, the meh, and the ugly.

The Good

Monologue(7): JGL did a Magic mike spoof that was fantastic.  Three cast members came out for the assist, and when they each took off their silk vests in turn, the first three revealed moderate to good abs, and Bobby Moynihan took off his to reveal…another vest.  I’ll admit, I loled.

SNL: 9/15/12 Seth McFarlane/Frank Ocean

And we’re back with another year of everyone’s favorite late night sketch comedy show!   

This year, we have several new cast members to fill in the departed cast of K.Wiig, Abby Elliot, and Andy Samberg.  They are heavy-set female, generic female, generic male, and ugly guy.   I saw the ugly guy most through the show, while Vanessa Bayer took the lion’s share of the female leads.  SNL?  Stop trying to make Bayer happen…she’s almost as bad as fetch.

I’m going to follow the same format I did last year, with the good, the bad and the meh, starting with:

The Good:

Lids-Gangam Style(7)-I’m not sure if I put this one so high due to it actually being funny, or if it has more to do with the lack of actual good material tonight.  In any case, the random gangam dancer to brighten the store clerks day had me laughing, and then when the actual guy came out, it was great.

Intro to Puppets(8)-From Keenan’s fail at voices, to Bill Hader’s PTSD soldier, this sketch had me rolling.  And then when Hader made out with the puppet in the end?  Gold.  In other news, apparently, I’m five.

Wooden Spoons(7)-This sketch, when written out, seems like a terrible idea.  But then, ‘the river what took my son’*head bow.*  I was dying. 

The Meh:

Cold Open:Democratic rally(4)-This may show my bias, but I’m pretty sure this would have been funnier if any of the jabs were true.

Monologue(6)-The entirety of this was Seth McFarlane doing his voices, and then making fun of the fact that it seemed like he was schizophrenic, with the voices in his head.  It had it’s moments, but went on far too long.

Commercial:Obama(5)-Again, my bias on this shows, and the jokes would have been funny if they were even remotely true.

Sex after 50(5)-The overall concept was great: talk show host is ill, her ill-equipped producer sits in and messes everything up.  However, the content was excessively crude, just because they could.  Honestly, it could have worked with any topic, and didn’t need to be sex related to be funny.

Eastwood & Chair(6)-See, this is how you do political satire.  You don’t need to bash the views, just make fun of their weird/goofy ways of expressing those views.  However, it still wasn’t incredibly funny, but it did have a couple of moments.

Weekend Update:Headlines(6)-9 of the 14 jokes were funny to me, but none were really memorable, so the six works.

Army Training Camp(4)-Another sketch that a)went on too long, and b)made fun of a strange topic.

Steve Harvey Makeover(5)-This was…weird.  I didn’t really get it, though the white Steve Harvey was kind of amusing.  Is Steve Harvey even relevant?

Restaurant Blind Date(4)-Interesting concept, poor execution.  This is where my Beyer is going to happen thing comes from.  In another person’s more capable hands, this may have verged on funny, but as it stood, no.

The Ugly:

Weekend Update:Segments(3)-Honey Boo Boo is a terrible show, and to acknowledge it’s existence is to give it power.  Ryan Lochte was amusing for what it was, which was making fun of a person for their terrible interview skills, when all they have really done with their life is swim.  Talk about low hanging fruit.  Mimi Morales could have been good, but the boyfriend piece was obnoxious, and made me want to punch someone.

The Rest:

The musical guest wasn’t terrible, but he doesn’t do my kind of music.  SNL probably only brought him on due to his controversy earlier this summer.

I think it was kind of sad that I found one of the actual commercials funnier than most of this episode.  “$5 pizzas?  That’s crazy, there are no rules!” *Proceeds to take off shirt* “Put your shirt on” “Okay, one rule!”  I was dying laughing at that for a good minute, it was almost ridiculous.

The average score this week was 5.38 which is…kind of higher than I expected, but it is the new year.

1. 9/15 Seth McFarlane/Frank Ocean (5.38)