S45.E02: Phoebe Waller-Bridge/Taylor Swift

[Princess Sparkle]

Phoebe Waller-Bridge hosts, Taylor Swift as the musical guest. 

[Pete Martell]

[vb68]

Never seen Fleabag. (I know I know, but I get so behind and slightly overwhelmed on the sheer number of shows now.)  So I no idea what to expect. I just hope it's more Emma Thompson and less Felicity Jones.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

Ok, I loved the Love Island sketch. Those folks would have been perfect candidates for the next season of The Challenge! 

Also LOL at the random shot of Alex dancing in a puffy skirt. 

[Quickbeam]

Wow, Taylor Swift really can’t sing. 

[HC87]

My God...just awful about an hour in.....lazy writing, poor performances etc

[futurechemist]

If SNL is live, then how come the closed captioning on my tv is running about 1 line ahead, just like a scripted show?

[freddi]

1 minute ago, futurechemist said:

If SNL is live, then how come the closed captioning on my tv is running about 1 line ahead, just like a scripted show?

Time delay issue, probably.   It is live.  (No, I can't explain the time-space physics of this!) 

[Galileo908]

Cold Open: This was better off with Pence leading the way. And wow, Matthew Broderick is playing Mike Pompeo? And man, Jay Pharaoh did Ben Carson so much better. I think Kate in Joker makeup should've landed harder than it did. It just felt flat.

Monologue: She was fun.

What's Wrong With This Picture?: This was silly as hell. "There's no crack in the booty. The poop goes out the front." That dog bit...WOW, can't believe they got away with that.

Love Island: Somehow parody UK trash is even funnier than the American Jersey Shore kind. "I'm from Murder-Suicide, England" just slayed me. Yeah, somehow I'd watch 50 hours of that.

Gas Station Robber: "Hurricanes aren't white." This was funny. I just loved everyone's energy.

The War in Words: I enjoyed this one. The reveal that Lydia's "movie: was with Hitler was great.

WU: "Are we sure it's okay to make fun of this guy?" It's Trump, so...yes. Yeah, Nickleback being the hero of twitter was like the fifth weirdest thing to happen this week. Like...that whole thing Jacob Wohl made up to attack Elizabeth Warren. I loved seeing Mikey Day's old man character again. That voice he uses is just great. (Asking where is Pete had to be an ad-lib) And I loved seeing Bowen Yang doing his thing. He needs to be in more sketches.

Royal Romance: A posh royal dating Dolemite seems like a premise wasted on a sketch. I'd like to see that movie. Kenan will always kill it. Loved that he's responsible for knighting SIR Mix-A-Lot.

Bar: Winning formula: Just have everyone talk like Cathy Anne. Everyone tried so hard to not break, Beck keeping it together was nothing short of a miracle.

I thought I was gonna go to bed early, and DVR it. Obviously didn't happen. I really liked this one. David Harbour hosts next week.

[K-9]

Saxophone guy was amazing!

Edited October 6, 2019 by K-9

[willco]

23 minutes ago, futurechemist said:

If SNL is live, then how come the closed captioning on my tv is running about 1 line ahead, just like a scripted show?

Don't know about SNL, but that happens sometimes when I watch the local news ! I think it's because, even though it's live, there's still a written script and the person who types in the words ( or machine, maybe, not sure, that does it), just gets ahead of the speakers. (Or it's Big Brother at work, controlling everything w see & hear ! (ha )  )

[MVFrostsMyPie]

I liked tonight's show. It won't be one of the most memorable, but I consistently laughed. The only sketches that bored me/my attention swayed from was the Royal Romance one, and some of the redneck bar one. Oh and T.Swift's second performance (my attention went more towards Lenny Pickett 🎷). 

WU had some good zingers in there and glad new guy Bowen got to shine as the Chinese government official (although it was leaning a little too into Ken Jeong territory during some of it). 

[shipmate]

This is the best overall episode I've seen in a while. Loved the Pence themed cold open and I laughed at least once in every sketch. I FF-ed through Taylor Seift, even though I like her. The new guy doing the Tariff bit on WU was hilarious!

[vb68]

I didn't like the cold open. I thought it was meandering and lacked focus. And Wow, I thought Matthew Broderick was really  NOT good. Painfully so. Awkward and really didn't fit the character. I would had never guessed that was Pompeo. But the writing for the cold opens is very much an issue. They seem hesitant to go for the jugular. I thought the Joker makeup at the end was really lame more than anything.

Other than that though, I quite liked the show.  I thought Phoebe rocked it. Some sketches seemed edgier than usual like the one with the newscasters, and I wondered if that was due to her.

Monologue got better as it went along.

Kenan can do those gameshow hosts until the end of the time.

The War Letters is the signature Mikey sketch. I remember him doing it on the summer show Maya and Marty right before he got SNL. This was the best version yet.

Update seemed super long tonight making up for the short one last week. Bowen killed his segment. I really like Che's riff on Trump and Lenny from Of Mice and Men. That was stronger than Che's usual analogies IMO. Oh and I liked the dig at Pete still being a no-show.

Taylor was fine.

I thought it was better and had more energy than last week. 

Edited October 6, 2019 by vb68

[Kaiju Ballet]

I wasn’t familiar with Phoebe Waller- Bridge, but her monologue was really good, and makes me want to check out Fleabag and Killing Eve.

Yay Ego got some screentime, and she made the most of it!

Taylor Swift. It’s like she saw the rotating set that Billie Eilish had last week and decided not to even try. The green set that she had for her first song seemed like a reject from The Voice.

Love Island—that bit of physical comedy with Aidy struggling to get up and somewhat succeeding made me LOL, although I was laughing quite a bit already.

But the MVP of the episode was Bowen Yang, in his WU appearance. “Don-Don, we already built a wall. And we measure time in dynasties, while you measure time in seasons of Grey’s Anatomy.” I hope though that he’ll be given opportunities to shine that aren’t based on being Asian.

[opus]

33 minutes ago, vb68 said:

The War Letters is the signature Mikey sketch. I remember him doing it on the summer show Maya and Marty right before he got SNL. This was the best version yet.

Someone please tell me who he did it with on SNL before. I’m blanking.

[Kaiju Ballet]

3 minutes ago, opus said:

Someone please tell me who he did it with on SNL before. I’m blanking.

I think it was Claire Foy.

And when he pulled out the hair it was another LOL moment.

[vb68]

On 10/6/2019 at 1:56 AM, Kaiju Ballet said:

And when he pulled out the hair it was another LOL moment.

Indeed. I burst out laughing.

Oh in Elizabeth Warren's segment, when she said the  woman on the phone was getting a pap smear, I totally thought Colin was going to say, Now?! It's 12:20 am!

Edited October 7, 2019 by vb68

[SHD]

My opinion of this episode suffered due to my high expectations, I guess. Just an average show for me, and I love PWB. Even Taylor Swift was kind of meh to me, and she's usually at least good at making performances a spectacle.

[Ms Blue Jay]

44 minutes ago, vb68 said:

Indeed. I burst out laughing.

Oh in Elizabeth Warren's segment, when she said said the  woman on the phone was getting a pap smear, I totally thought Colin was going to say, Now?! It's 12:20 am!

I actually thought the same as you and then I thought there are different time zones, so the woman had to be in one of them.  Silly ,  I know.

[freddi]

Finally got to see the monologue on the West Coast repeat, and I thought she was great.  I loved all of the war letters, and it was a nice twist at the end, when we expected him to say, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN, KISS OUR SON?  He’s with you”— but no!

[Mystery]

2 hours ago, Kaiju Ballet said:

But the MVP of the episode was Bowen Yang, in his WU appearance. “Don-Don, we already built a wall. And we measure time in dynasties, while you measure time in seasons of Grey’s Anatomy.” I hope though that he’ll be given opportunities to shine that aren’t based on being Asian.

He was definitely my favorite part of the show. 

[ahisma]

Loved Michael donating $10K to Elizabeth because he liked that she had sex with a 24yo Marine. That's ... actually very on brand for Michael!

[Pete Martell]

1 hour ago, vb68 said:

I didn't like the cold open. I thought it was meandering and lacked focus. And Wow, I thought Matthew Broderick was really  NOT good. Painfully so. Awkward and really didn't fit the character. I would had never guessed that was Pompeo. But the writing for the cold opens is very much an issue. They seem hesitant to go for the jugular. I thought the Joker makeup at the end was really lame more than anything.

Matthew Broderick was terrible on The Conners last season, so I expected the absolute worst tonight. Low expectations helped, as to me he was mostly average, and the main reason he was likely cast (the Ferris Beuller line) he pulled off. I knew he hosted many years ago but didn't know he's actually hosted twice. 

The cold opens always check off boxes rather than go for real humor. Celebrity cameo. Pence gay jokes (although I was glad Beck had more to do than he usually does in these). Aidy and/or Kate in drag = automatic hilarity. It's all so cynical. I don't think most of the people at SNL now want to talk about politics, but they have to, so we get this. 

There were some elements of this I liked - the dummy of Pompeo at the House hearing, Pence talking to the snake (AKA Stephen Miller), so it's better than some cold opens of recent years, but still not very good. 

I also don't think Kate's Guiliani impression is up to much. It just seems very muggy and empty. I see people look at performances like these and talk about how she's carrying the show, and I just end up feeling confused. 

[Lizzing]

The episode was okay, and certainly held my attention more than last week's.  The cold open was fine for SNL--they've pulled punches for years now, so I'm used to it, and I was just glad Alec Baldwin wasn't there.  Generally I like Mikey Day, but his old man WU character hits me as an impression of Dana Carvey's Grumpy Old Man, just with about 99% less grumpiness.  Seeing as how I'm veering into grumpy old woman territory, I really miss the grumpiness in Carvey's performance.

Why doesn't Lorne just axe Pete?  He really adds nothing.

[Spartan Girl]

Everything Phoebe did was brilliant. I wonder if she helped write some of her skits. The game show and the news anchor ones were the best of the night. And the war letters one was so silly but it cracked me up.

[Ottis]

7 hours ago, HC87 said:

My God...just awful about an hour in.....lazy writing, poor performances etc

Agree. Haven’t cracked a smile through the gas station heist. Oh wait, “white male” shows promise. Ok, the news skit with keeping score by race was good. Like a synopsis of online society. 

I remember when Taylor Swift first appeared and performed live on a daytime show... Good Morning America  maybe, on a stage in a street. And I thought she was a terrible singer, just off key and weak voiced. And I remember thinking, “she won’t amount to much.” And she took off. She has improved since then. The lyrics to the first song was sophomoric though. 

Did Trump actually suggest a moat at the border? Loved the Trump and Lenny comparison. “Strong,” heh.

R Kelly joke... ouch. It’s funny because it’s true! Wait, no it’s not. 

A sophomore at Vassar who drinks out of a metal straw and its such a performance? So many great lines in that WU segment. 

Edited October 6, 2019 by Ottis

[nickp1991]

it's bowen yang's world and we're just living in it

[TV Anonymous]

ROFLMAO moments for the Cold Open, Morning News and The War in Words.

Were Villaseñor in any of the sketches? She was at the closing scene, but I did not see her elsewhere.

I am quite disappointed that a well-known and high-profile actress like Taylor Swift was not included in any of the sketches. She even has acting experience, no matter how bad or good.

[SHD]

5 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

Matthew Broderick was terrible on The Conners last season, so I expected the absolute worst tonight. 

I feel like something happened to Matthew Broderick’s acting right around the time of The Producers. Seems like he can only play super exaggerated, like he has to emote and mug for the last row of a theater audience and that comes across terribly on TV.

[Caseysgirl]

I’ve heard Taylor Swift recorded before and I thought she was good , so I was shocked that her voice was so. Weak, and dare I say, off key?  The show had some good moments but I’m not up on the latest gossip, has Pete Davidson been AWOL this season?

[hendersonrocks]

Quote

But the MVP of the episode was Bowen Yang, in his WU appearance. “Don-Don, we already built a wall. And we measure time in dynasties, while you measure time in seasons of Grey’s Anatomy.” I hope though that he’ll be given opportunities to shine that aren’t based on being Asian.

Hard agree. His energy was unreal.

Other random thoughts:

• While Matthew Broderick's actual portrayal of Pompeo left A LOT to be desired, I loved the call backs to Ferris - and also wondered how many people (what, 30+ years later?!) got all of the references.
• I also thought the last sketch felt like Cathy Ann in a bar with friends, and wanted more of Kate dancing with the jukebox because those first five seconds were the best part of it.
• I irrationally despise T-Swift so it's difficult for me to be objective about how she actually sounded. I enjoyed the sax, though!

[vb68]

3 hours ago, Lizzing said:

Generally I like Mikey Day, but his old man WU character hits me as an impression of Dana Carvey's Grumpy Old Man, just with about 99% less grumpiness. 

Wow, good call on that. "Back in MY day....we all had to use metal straws! And we LIKED it! Rrrrrrrr!!!"

3 hours ago, Ottis said:

Did Trump actually suggest a moat at the border? Loved the Trump and Lenny comparison. “Strong,” heh.

Yes. That was down the list quite a ways this week, but yes.

1 hour ago, TV Anonymous said:

I am quite disappointed that a well-known and high-profile actress like Taylor Swift was not included in any of the sketches. She even has acting experience, no matter how bad or good.

I'm assuming that was by her choice. Not only has she acted, she's hosted before too. I remember reading a year or two ago where she said she hosted once and that was enough. I'm not sure I really understood the reasoning other than maybe she didn't like doing sketches?

Edited October 6, 2019 by vb68

[msrachelj]

10 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

Wow, Taylor Swift really can’t sing. 

WHY is this girl such a popular "singer"? She sucks. No accounting for taste. Just think , she's a billionaire and she is terrible. And there are so many actually talented singers out there who never get a chance! She's cute and has a model's body. Maybe that had something to do with it?🤫

[ottoDbusdriver]

7 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

The cold opens always check off boxes rather than go for real humor. Celebrity cameo. Pence gay jokes (although I was glad Beck had more to do than he usually does in these). Aidy and/or Kate in drag = automatic hilarity. It's all so cynical. I don't think most of the people at SNL now want to talk about politics, but they have to, so we get this. 

Though, Stephen Miller being portrayed by a snake was pretty spot on.

I loved the 2 Ferris Bueller references in the cold open.

[helenamonster]

Ferris Bueller reference aside, Matthew Broderick was such an odd, inexplicable choice for a cameo. He doesn't look or sound anything like Pompeo, and he's really not all that relevant anymore--there was definitely some tepid/confused applause when he first came out, and for good reason: why would anybody expect him to be there? Also, he seemed like he'd rather be anywhere else. What was the point?

Obsessed with Cecily's Geordie accent in the Love Island piece.

Bowen is fantastic. More of him, please!

They were really tempting fate with that bra they had Cecily in for the bar sketch. I couldn't even focus on what was going on because I was too busy waiting for it to be over before she slipped a nip.

There were a lot of retreads tonight, which I thought was odd. I don't watch Killing Eve or Fleabag so I wouldn't be able to easily identify Phoebe's style, but I figured as an Emmy-winning writer they'd let her, like, write some stuff. None of it felt any different than a usual episode, so it doesn't feel like she did.

It wasn't until I saw them in the goodnights that I realized neither Melissa nor Kyle got any screentime this episode. Yikes.

Speaking of not getting screentime: fucking Pete, you guys. His personal issues aside, I am tired of the special treatment he's getting. All I can think about every time I remember he gets to film a movie while continuing to be counted as a cast member on this show, I think of Michaela Watkins's story about Bill Hader telling her to thank Lorne for letting her do a movie over the summer. When SNL was on hiatus and she wasn't missing any show weeks. And Michaela brought much more to the show than Pete ever has.

Taylor Swift is not a good singer. She is marketed more on her image than any actual musical talent. If her dad hadn't bought her career for her, she'd be playing to half empty coffee shops in suburban Pennsylvania. She's exhausting.

I will say, though, I found SNL's promotion of this episode on Instagram to be extremely disingenuous. I know Phoebe's never been on before so they didn't have anything to pull from the archives of her, but they were posting a lot of videos of Taylor's hosting stint from 2009, implying that she'd at least appear in a sketch. Maybe they were hoping they could talk her into it? I don't know, but it felt like a strange approach.

[izabella]

29 minutes ago, helenamonster said:

Speaking of not getting screentime: fucking Pete, you guys. His personal issues aside, I am tired of the special treatment he's getting.

And he's not even funny.

[Robert Lynch]

31 minutes ago, helenamonster said:

Ferris Bueller reference aside, Matthew Broderick was such an odd, inexplicable choice for a cameo. He doesn't look or sound anything like Pompeo, and he's really not all that relevant anymore--there was definitely some tepid/confused applause when he first came out, and for good reason: why would anybody expect him to be there? Also, he seemed like he'd rather be anywhere else. What was the point?

Obsessed with Cecily's Geordie accent in the Love Island piece.

Bowen is fantastic. More of him, please!

They were really tempting fate with that bra they had Cecily in for the bar sketch. I couldn't even focus on what was going on because I was too busy waiting for it to be over before she slipped a nip.

There were a lot of retreads tonight, which I thought was odd. I don't watch Killing Eve or Fleabag so I wouldn't be able to easily identify Phoebe's style, but I figured as an Emmy-winning writer they'd let her, like, write some stuff. None of it felt any different than a usual episode, so it doesn't feel like she did.

It wasn't until I saw them in the goodnights that I realized neither Melissa nor Kyle got any screentime this episode. Yikes.

Speaking of not getting screentime: fucking Pete, you guys. His personal issues aside, I am tired of the special treatment he's getting. All I can think about every time I remember he gets to film a movie while continuing to be counted as a cast member on this show, I think of Michaela Watkins's story about Bill Hader telling her to thank Lorne for letting her do a movie over the summer. When SNL was on hiatus and she wasn't missing any show weeks. And Michaela brought much more to the show than Pete ever has.

Taylor Swift is not a good singer. She is marketed more on her image than any actual musical talent. If her dad hadn't bought her career for her, she'd be playing to half empty coffee shops in suburban Pennsylvania. She's exhausting.

I will say, though, I found SNL's promotion of this episode on Instagram to be extremely disingenuous. I know Phoebe's never been on before so they didn't have anything to pull from the archives of her, but they were posting a lot of videos of Taylor's hosting stint from 2009, implying that she'd at least appear in a sketch. Maybe they were hoping they could talk her into it? I don't know, but it felt like a strange approach.

My mom hated Matthew Broderick ever since the whole surrogate mother fiasco with the twins became public knowledge. I don't know whole story about it, but I remember making it on the news back in 2009.

[Thumper]

What's the dish on Taylor Swift's father buying her career?

I had never seen Phoebe before and thought she did a good job.  Loved the Paradise Island (or whatever it was called) skit, even though I couldn't understand some of the accents!  

Missed both of T's performances, but I have the show recorded.

[Sparger Springs]

I don't understand what Kate is doing with that Rudy impression. None of it makes sense.

[Pete Martell]

3 hours ago, TV Anonymous said:

ROFLMAO moments for the Cold Open, Morning News and The War in Words.

Were Villaseñor in any of the sketches? She was at the closing scene, but I did not see her elsewhere.

I am quite disappointed that a well-known and high-profile actress like Taylor Swift was not included in any of the sketches. She even has acting experience, no matter how bad or good.

At this point I wonder if it was her choice, unless we hear something about her being in cut sketches (Billie Eilish was in one last week). She also didn't appear in any sketches in 2017. 

Melissa and Heidi were only in cut sketches. Melissa apparently briefly posted something about "I'm a Star" so I guess she is not too thrilled. I can't blame her. She has never had an identity on the show beyond doing impressions, so in a season where they are giving focus to the three ladies likely in their last year (Cecily, Aidy, Kate) and trying to build up a newcomer (Chloe), she's at a loss. Maybe things will get better. 

13 minutes ago, Sparger Springs said:

I don't understand what Kate is doing with that Rudy impression. None of it makes sense.

I think she's going for an old horror movie villain parody, rather than trying to impersonate him. That's fine, I guess, but it isn't very funny...

[vb68]

24 minutes ago, Pete Martell said:

Melissa and Heidi were only in cut sketches.

Do you have a list of the cut sketches?

24 minutes ago, Pete Martell said:

I think she's going for an old horror movie villain parody, rather than trying to impersonate him. That's fine, I guess, but it isn't very funny...

It's also pretty lazy, especially in the current news cycle where you  don't need the over the top gags or silly makeup to strain to make it relevant.

Edited October 6, 2019 by vb68

[marketdoctor]

Quote

If SNL is live, then how come the closed captioning on my tv is running about 1 line ahead, just like a scripted show?

A show can be "live" but be on 7-second* electronic delay.  If you had one extremely fast typist, or several well-coordinated ones, you could caption it--or (as your local news likely does) use speech-to-text recognition.  Since it's a scripted show, they probably have a transcript ready, and then use live micro-edits as they need to, and sometimes that gets ahead.  Sometimes they put a notice about electronic delay, but they might not bother if a "reasonable viewer" thinks a very short delay is live enough. 

* I don't know why it's seven seconds particularly; it might be more or less, but they used to do that when they'd suspect they would need to blip profanity.

And it was Claire Foy the first time in a War in Words sketch, but it was very funny both times.

I want to see more of saxaphone guy.

[Pete Martell]

37 minutes ago, vb68 said:

Do you have a list of the cut sketches?

Not as of yet, but here's a quick pre-tape they uploaded:

[izabella]

51 minutes ago, vb68 said:

It's also pretty lazy, especially in the current news cycle where you  don't need the over the top gags or silly makeup to strain to make it relevant.

I actually think that's what makes it harder for SNL.  What is actually being said and done in reality is so ridiculous and done so ridiculously, it's hard to make a sketch funnier than the reality.

Edited October 6, 2019 by izabella

[Toaster Strudel]

Does anyone remember the fake name used in the royalty skit that featured Kenan a lot?
Prentice Popper-something? It cracked me up and now I forget what it was.

[Robert Lynch]

2 hours ago, izabella said:

And he's not even funny.

Why is Pete still there?

[izabella]

3 minutes ago, Robert Lynch said:

Why is Pete still there?

I had that same question for a long time.  I know nothing about him, but from what posters have said here, I gather that he is the son of a 9/11 first responder who died when Pete was very young, and Lorne has taken him under his wing.  And, I guess, some people think he's funny.

[Robert Lynch]

9 minutes ago, izabella said:

I had that same question for a long time.  I know nothing about him, but from what posters have said here, I gather that he is the son of a 9/11 first responder who died when Pete was very young, and Lorne has taken him under his wing.  And, I guess, some people think he's funny.

I applaud Lorne for that and I feel for Pete's loss on that horrid day, but he can't be there forever. He has to expand other ventures. Look at Bill Hader!

[Racj82]

Hate on Pete as you like but he's actually one of the most well known performers on the show now. Number 2 since Leslie left and under Kate. Not just because of who he dates but he's booking parts all over the place. He's clearly funny to some.

One thing I've learned is how much tv is like music these days. In that there are these big shows with lots of acclaim like Fleabag or Killing Eve but then when actors from these big shows pop up elsewhere, there's a whole lot of who is this. The same with music performers. Huge no 1 selling artists that massive amounts a people don't know. It's so easy to be out of line with pop culture nowadays.

Man, I always enjoy the gang trying not to crack up. Everyone was losing it in the last sketch. I was too.

That racial new sketch is damn true but there is a undercurrent of such sadness to it. As a black man, it always feels like a loss for all of us when other black people do terrible or dumb shit in the news. Also, no one wants fuel to the fire for jackasses that point to any crime a minority does to illustrate how terrible they think they are.

It just hit me but I imagine it's why at least some men are so defensive these days. Everytime any man does or says some gross shit it leads to more fuel to men are the worst/men are pigs type comments.