S46.E01: Chris Rock / Megan Thee Stallion

[cpcathy]

I really disliked the cold opening. It’s as if they let a brand new writer write it, or, someone’s teenage kid. The timing was off, even the cameras were in the wrong place at times. Alec was the best thing about it. Kamala was only brought in because they announced Maya and had to produce her somehow.

Jim Carrey’s Biden was exactly as I feared, cartoony and overly “Jim Carrey.” It’s always about Jim Carrey when he performs. At least he’s not trying to win an Oscar anymore.
I liked Chris Rock’s monologue and that’s it. He wasn’t even good in sketches. 
 

[Pete Martell]

14 minutes ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Yang is no longer "new" though. Isn't this his second season?

Sorry. I didn't word that right before I edited. With a few exceptions they have kept featured players to two seasons for many years now. The main exceptions were Amy Poehler (who was so respected in the comedy world and got a positive enough viewer response to where she was promoted to main cast midseason), Will Forte (which his agent wanted, I think...?) and Cecily Strong and Aidy Bryant (because if they hadn't they would have had about a dozen featured players).

Edited October 4, 2020 by Pete Martell

[possibilities]

I liked Megan Thee Stallion. I had heard all about her but never actually seen/heard her work. I find her name twee and annoying but I got over it because I liked her.

I was surprised by how they managed to calibrate the jokes so that they weren't pulling punches but they also weren't crossing what I'd consider to be any lines that would generate more than a tolerable level of backlash. I think they did that really well, especially since the news took a dramatic turn on FRIDAY, which probably means they had to do a lot of last minute script re-writes.

I think it's reckless and stupid and unnecessary to do the shows in the studio instead of remotely, but if they are going to be in studio, I'm glad they made sure to have the  host talk about how many precautions they are taking. I do agree they could do more to emphasize what proper masking looks like, or at least not actually SHOW wrongly worn masks, unless the wrongness is being pointed out.

Carrey's physical impression of Biden was better than I thought it would be, but I thought the debate sketch script was totally terrible and inadequate, except for the remote control. I hate Alec's impression, I wish they'd give it to someone else. But more than that, I just thought the script was bad.

WE was much better than I anticipated it would be. I actually thought it was pretty good.

I went to sleep laughing about the guy who was changing his name from one awful name to another, much to my surprise. If you had told me what that sketch was about, I would have thought I would hate it. But I wound up laughing. So I think it's true we just needed something silly and stupid, and incorporating the pandemic into a situation that had some levity was something I didn't really think was possible without being offensive, but they showed me that it is still possible, and I appreciated that.

I don't know if the sound was muffled or if I'm having problems on my end, but I had trouble discerning the lyrics to the "bottom of face" song, but for the parts I understood, I liked it, again because of the injection of humor into a situation that's actually really hard for people, without minimizing the reality.

[ebk57]

Two more small observations about the cold open (since I'm actually awake now and haven't started drinking...yet):  I was disappointed in Maya's Kamala because she was portrayed as the "cool aunt" during the primaries and last night she was more of the schoolteacher scold.  But, I did love the little smile from Alec during "Live from New York" - I don't recall him breaking out in a genuine smile before since he hates the "character" so much. 

[vb68]

9 hours ago, Traveller519 said:

This one felt a bit like the first "at home" a bit of trying to figure things out.

I think that's a good comparison and definitely agree. It's been over six months since they did a live show and the rust was showing.  They need to get the groove back.

 

8 hours ago, Jody said:

and I don't remember who IT was said that Cecily does the Best Impressions ! !

I don't know that I'm the only one, but that's how I feel.  It was obvious that Cecily wasn't in the studio and they missed her energy. Melania would had worked better in the debate sketch than Kamala. Cecily is going to be damn hard to replace.

Kate was very lowkey and really does seem ready to move on IMO. I don't expect her to last the season.

Except for one of the newbies, The Drew Barrymore sketch seemed like the exact thing Chloe was doing in the At Home shows. I got the impression she shot it herself and then they edited it a little.

57 minutes ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Yang is no longer "new" though. Isn't this his second season?

Bowen will be promoted after this season as is the standard.

[peeayebee]

11 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

As someone who has been following all the NBA bubble vlogs the NBA bubble draft was way funnier than I expected. And the fact that Danuel House actually got kicked out of the bubble for sneaking a covid tester into his hotel room ...

I admit it took me until almost the end of the sketch to realize what the premise was. At that point I remembered hearing about the NBA bubble and that some players violated it. 

 

11 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

Kenan's bit in the intro was him saying "I ain't ever leaving!"

HA! I missed that. Love it.

Quote

The Drew Barrymore Show: I know that this show exists, how dead on is this? 

I honestly didn't know this was a real show. I enjoyed her impression of Drew, but I think I liked her Reese Witherspoon even more.

 

11 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

It makes the actors look sooooooooooo ignorant when they pull down their masks to speak , like Kenan kept doing in that first sketch with the dirty names.  Unless it was for people who read lips, you do not have to do that.  Plus there's closed captioning.  Ugh, it makes me insane!

This didn't bother me at all. I'm imagining if Kenan said his lines without pulling down his mask it just wouldn't have been as funny. Somehow not seeing people's lips move dampen the humor.

 

10 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I think Jim Carrey is usually really good but I didn't love his Biden.  Maybe it's because I'm so used to Jason doing it. 

I didn't like Carrey's Biden either. It was all too Carrey. I prefer Jason's Biden as well. 

The thing with Biden being distracted by the laser pointer was weird. How is that remotely like Biden? Is he distracted easily? Is he catlike? It just didn't work for me, though I understand Trump was trying to throw him off during the debate. So are we stuck with Carrey as Biden for the rest of the season?

 

18 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I don't know if the sound was muffled or if I'm having problems on my end, but I had trouble discerning the lyrics to the "bottom of face" song, but for the parts I understood, I liked it, again because of the injection of humor into a situation that's actually really hard for people, without minimizing the reality.

I basically enjoyed this sketch/music video, but I too couldn't always understand what was being said. I appreciated at the beginning when it was actually captioned.

I thought the best part of the show was Cecily as Kimberly Guilfoyle. Perfect. I'm sorry she couldn't have participated more.

The Action News name change sketch made me laugh. Silly and juvenile and much needed these days.

I liked the stunt performer sketch, particularly that Kate's job was captioned as Faller-Downer.

Can't say I enjoyed Megan Thee Stallion. For one thing, I'm not into watching women wiggle their butts. 

[Macbeth]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

Yeah, that was my impression, too.  They made Biden look crazy when he wasn't, and they seriously underplayed the Trump lunacy.

Which is exactly why it didn't work for me.  It's not even parody Biden.  He did get the voice right, though.

 

Making Biden crazier than Trump is a huge problem for me.

Carrey is the wrong person to play Biden.  Biden has a lot of warmth and empathy which Carrey lacks.  

[Ms Blue Jay]

2 hours ago, theatremouse said:

It bothered me too, but I have to assume they did it for television audio purposes. I don't think it makes them look ignorant though, because clearly they were not required to be masked in all scenes. There were several where they weren't wearing them at all. It was weird. They were encouraging people to wear masksat the end, which seems the right thing to do, but every single scene that involved a mask illustrating improper mask wearing. Every sketch whoever was about to talk either took it off first or pulled it down. If they'd done some sort of disclaimer, like....we're on television and we're bubbled and IRL you should keep your mask on here but so you can see and hear the actor best, they're taking it off, but please pretend they didn't. Or SOMETHING.

The reason it upsets me is because the idea spreads to ignorant people to do it too.  People do it to me all time.  They pull their mask down to speak to me.  PEOPLE NEED TO STOP DOING IT.  People need to realize that they don't have to do it.  People need to learn that they can speak perfectly fine with their masks on.

To me it does look ignorant because it's not necessary to speak or to sell the joke.  SNL should set the example.  If they want to force live audiences to come into the studio to watch this and they want to air as "regular" in a pandemic, why not demonstrate proper mask wearing?  It looks ignorant to show people "I think that I need to pull my mask down to speak."

2 hours ago, theatremouse said:

 They were encouraging people to wear masksat the end, which seems the right thing to do, but every single scene that involved a mask illustrating improper mask wearing. 

Yes, and then Chris PULLED HIS MASK DOWN TO SPEAK.  Idiots out there will assume that they should do that too.  I see it all the time in real life and it makes me nuts.

8 hours ago, Jody said:

        I Wore A Mask when I got My Hair Done At The Beauty Shop ! How ever, I Took Off MY Mask when I got A Shampoo ! I Got A Facial While MY Mask WAs Off ! Later, I Took Off MY Mask As The Beauty Operator Cut around MY Ears  And Maybe When I Got MY Bangs Cut ! !

Nobody was getting their hair done here....... the actors who were masked could have simply read their lines or goodbyes without pulling the mask down.  It's not a necessity to speak.

Edited October 4, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[cambridgeguy]

9 hours ago, ruby24 said:

I know I wouldn't have felt comfortable in that environment. If everyone's going to be laughing and cheering in an indoor space for 90 minutes I think they ought to at least all have N95 masks on.

They can't do that.  SNL starts handing those out and a lot of people will bitch about how they're going to spectators instead of medical professionals and other high risk folks.  If they truly spaced everyone then there would be so few audience members they might as well just film everything in an empty studio and use recorded noise like they do with sports.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Straight up, they should not have had a live audience or every member should have been 6 feet apart.  For example, on Fallon and Drew Barrymore's show, that is how far the guests sit away from each other.  They've probably all been tested, but it's just to show the audience they're being cautious, to set the example.

[kib]

5 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

I'm surprised the debate sketch didn't have a bit about how most of Trump's attendees refused to wear a mask.  Because what's the worst that could happen, right? 

At least Carrey tried to mimic Biden's voice - Sudeikis just talked really loud and Harrelson didn't bother.  It's also a sign of how things have changed over the years.

Sudeikis Biden - harmless goofball

Harrelson's Biden - senile and a bit creepy

Carrey's Biden - simmering rage hidden by a big smile and not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer

Agreed, a Biden for all seasons.  Sudeikis's Biden was Obama's happy warrior and America's daft Uncle Joe. Morph to Harrelson's portrayal where Biden is very much his own man and flexing his own muscles.  More assertive and more aware of himself sometimes drifting in and out of the present.

Carry's take was really dark.  "Simmering rage hidden by a big smile" is an excellent assessment.  Some of that was Carry deploying what is keeps his Gulfstream V jet in fuel, the 'rubber face', but his work has also shown a knack for portraying the troubled.  Both might be good tools as his stint of this years SNL Biden plays out.  I hope he does his homework on how Biden himself evolves over the course of upcoming events.

BTW - Worth mentioning Alec Baldwin's Trump.  Either he's dialing it back some or the real one has gotten that much more off the rails but lordy, that performance was so spot-on.  Less cartoon-y.

[Lola82]

For those concerned about audience safety, this is part of the current requirement.

“All guests will be required to take a mandatory COVID-19 test upon arrival. This is a self-administered lower nasal antigen test with results yielded before the show.”

I know those tests aren’t foolproof but along with wearing masks and temp checks, I wouldn’t be concerned that this is a super spreader event.

[juno]

I think political impressions are difficult. I also think SNL fails almost all the time and are never funny to me.

The current writers seem to think that they do the following to succeed.

1. Dress up big actor/actress in clothes and makeup to make them resemble the politician.
2. Have them say the exact same things that the politician says but in a cartoon level of speech.
3.  Rinse and repeat.

It wasn't that Tina Fey looked like Pallin, she took her manerisms and made them funny with funny writing.

Makeup and clothes just doesn't make something funny.

[WhineandCheez]

I think Alec toned it down a bit in deference to the fact that the president is in the hospital? I've got to say the best Biden is Woody harrelson with that giant false teeth and best line that Woody gave was he referred to a date as "19 clackity clack". Kimberly guilfoyle was hysterical. My favorite sketch though was the name change bureau I can never get enough of those funny names ever since 1975 when the Nnational Lampoon High School Yearbook parody came out.

[Robert Lynch]

But that shoulder to shoulder thing bothers me. There was a huge chubby man who was close proximity with two small ladies and those seats are not comfortable at all. Sounds like a recipe for disaster and New York is already having a spike in the boroughs. Who knows where most of the audience comes from...they are either New Jersey or tourist related.

Edited October 4, 2020 by Robert Lynch

[oakville]

I am happy that the show is back with a live audience.

The best sketch was Chloe's impression of the Drew Barrymore show.

I think the makeup artists did an amazing job of making Jim Carrey look like Joe Biden. Carrey impersonated Biden's voice well but the writers should have had him use more of Biden's catchphrases like "C'Mon Man".

 

[Diana Berry]

2 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

They can't do that.  SNL starts handing those out and a lot of people will bitch about how they're going to spectators instead of medical professionals and other high risk folks.  If they truly spaced everyone then there would be so few audience members they might as well just film everything in an empty studio and use recorded noise like they do with sports.

There is no way I would have sat that close to strangers in the audience ...test or no test.  I would have walked right out.  They should just have the zoom audience like Agt and the talk shows for a while.

[helenamonster]

This definitely felt like a lot of shaking off cobwebs, and moreso than usual since they've been out of the studio since March. Missed cues, looking at the wrong camera, etc...I also wondered if they had less rehearsal time, so that people didn't have to be too close to each other any longer than necessary?

I know Cecily will be mostly remote this season, but I still missed her and was happy she still got a good moment. Who is going to give voice to the deranged brunettes of the world after she leaves?

Chloe is a star. Really looking forward to her coming into her own this season.

I need Ego saying "Edith Puthie" as my text alert. That got me giggling because I am 12.

I like that the new opening is very of the moment, but I'm not crazy about it as a whole. Maybe I need a few episodes for it to grow on me? The editing seemed really slow paced and didn't match with the music, and I've gotten used to them becoming flashier each time they switch up. This felt like a throwback, much more sedate, though maybe that's more appropriate for the current climate.

Pretty standard first episode for the newbies, though I liked Punkie as the woman who couldn't stop ordering Buffalo Wild Wings and breaking her quarantine. Lauren doesn't really look like Aidy, but the couple times she showed up I thought she was styled a lot like her. Her wig in the funny names sketch looked like one they would usually give Aidy.

I kind of forgot Chris was there after the monologue, he mostly blended into the background.

Megan is awesome. She's had a rough go of it these past few months so she earned this win.

[Ms Blue Jay]

2 hours ago, juno said:

It wasn't that Tina Fey looked like Pallin, she took her manerisms and made them funny with funny writing.

Makeup and clothes just doesn't make something funny.

I thought that the writers didn't actually have to change Palin speeches.  And honestly, Tina does kind of look like her.

[Galileo908]

7 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I thought that the writers didn't actually have to change Palin speeches.  And honestly, Tina does kind of look like her.

They also sound so much alike I honestly thought that was Tina on The Masked Singer and not Sarah Palin. (Oh yeah, Sarah Palin was one of the singers last season. That was weird)

[shoregirl]

Aww ..this is sweet.

[Robert Lynch]

I remembered the Anthrax incident in 2001! Let's hope everything is okay since this is the new norm with masks for audience members. 

[peeayebee]

54 minutes ago, helenamonster said:

Megan is awesome. She's had a rough go of it these past few months so she earned this win.

How so?

[vb68]

4 hours ago, Macbeth said:

Biden has a lot of warmth and empathy which Carrey lacks.  

I agree. I hope Carrey adds more in that direction. At least turn down the darkness a bit. It should also be a running gag of how often Biden says "Folks!"

 

2 hours ago, WhineandCheez said:

I think Alec toned it down a bit in deference to the fact that the president is in the hospital?

I got that impression, too.

I think we can also say from this episode that Harry Styles has "Friend of the Show" status. He may not be Timberlake (yet) but they obviously like him a lot. And the feeling looks mutual.

Edited October 4, 2020 by vb68

[Miss Scarlet]

Even Colin Jost's new intro shots are smarmy.

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

Just watched the opening debate sketch.

Baldwin first: Nothing we haven't seen before. As always, his big problem is that he obviously hates Trump and that comes through in the performance. It's all mockery and going for the applause instead of the laugh.

Carrey was awful. He acted NOTHING like Joe Biden, either in his physicality or mannerisms or speech patterns. It's not a good sign that I literally wondered partway through if he was trying to channel Biden or Charlton Heston. If Carrey is looking for a semi-permanent SNL gig, he needs to study Dana Carvey, Kate McKinnon and Darrell Hammond for starters, as all three have done funny, convincing impersonations of multiple US politicians. Hell, I'd bet money that Larry David could come up with a WAY better Biden than we saw here. 

Rudolph was good as Kamala Harris: somebody upthread mentioned her playing Harris as the "cool aunt" and that could totally work long-term.

[Ms Blue Jay]

2 hours ago, peeayebee said:

How so?

She was shot multiple times.

[Tachi Rocinante]

20 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

Wait, Chris Rock? So that’s his dad on Fargo?

Whaa? Not sure If I'm missing something here . . .

[SoMuchTV]

4 minutes ago, Tachi Rocinante said:

Whaa? Not sure If I'm missing something here . . .

Just making a bad joke about how old he looks in Fargo, and how relatively young he looks here. 

[Pete Martell]

4 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I thought that the writers didn't actually have to change Palin speeches.  And honestly, Tina does kind of look like her.

The resemblance is why Tina was cast. Lorne was reluctant, but many people, including his doorman (I think), kept pointing out the similarity. As a few people have said over the years, the resemblance has only increased as time has passed. 

[Jody]

9 hours ago, vb68 said:

I think that's a good comparison and definitely agree. It's been over six months since they did a live show and the rust was showing.  They need to get the groove back.

 

I don't know that I'm the only one, but that's how I feel.  It was obvious that Cecily wasn't in the studio and they missed her energy. Melania would had worked better in the debate sketch than Kamala. Cecily is going to be damn hard to replace.

Kate was very lowkey and really does seem ready to move on IMO. I don't expect her to last the season.

Except for one of the newbies, The Drew Barrymore sketch seemed like the exact thing Chloe was doing in the At Home shows. I got the impression she shot it herself and then they edited it a little.

Bowen will be promoted after this season as is the standard.

 

     Maybe, Kate was Upset about Ruth Bader Ginsburg ! Not only did she do her, but Kate Probably Admires Ruth Bader Ginsburg ! ! That Must be what Chloe did, because She could Tape IT at home, But I wondered how she was THREE Different People in the Studio ! Chloe did Not Move Up Either So Bowan Wasn't the Only One To NOT Move Up ! This Is Bowan AND Chloe's Second Season ! !

[Quickbeam]

I really missed Jason’s Biden. He absolutely nails it....and I’m from Delaware. 
 

I loved the Colin BET joke.

[Jody]

12 hours ago, Inquisitionist said:

 

It feels very tired to me.  

Where was this?  I ffwd'd through so much of this dreck that I missed it. 

 

     That IS Why You Should Not Fast Forward Through the Show Because You Might Miss Something ! One Time, They Came Back Maybe from Week End Update And Had Kate In What looked Like The Audience Section to Me Next To Ruth Bader Ginsburg ! They Might Had Week End Update And Did A Commercial and Another Sketch And Then Another Commercial and THEN The Tribute !

 

[Pete Martell]

14 hours ago, Sir RaiderDuck OMS said:

Just watched the opening debate sketch.

Baldwin first: Nothing we haven't seen before. As always, his big problem is that he obviously hates Trump and that comes through in the performance. It's all mockery and going for the applause instead of the laugh.

Carrey was awful. He acted NOTHING like Joe Biden, either in his physicality or mannerisms or speech patterns. It's not a good sign that I literally wondered partway through if he was trying to channel Biden or Charlton Heston. If Carrey is looking for a semi-permanent SNL gig, he needs to study Dana Carvey, Kate McKinnon and Darrell Hammond for starters, as all three have done funny, convincing impersonations of multiple US politicians. Hell, I'd bet money that Larry David could come up with a WAY better Biden than we saw here. 

Rudolph was good as Kamala Harris: somebody upthread mentioned her playing Harris as the "cool aunt" and that could totally work long-term.

I have very mixed feelings about the Biden impersonations. I'm not sure who could really get him right now, because he seems so hollowed out, with little to hook an impression on. I love watching Jason Sudeikis, but Jason is such a force of life, which is an odd fit for today (it was especially jarring when he came back a few seasons ago for the sketch with Biden being accused of being inappropriate with women). With that said, I imagine they brought in someone new because of ratings, not because of performance suiting the politician (especially since Maya's Kamala seems like a fan fiction version of her). But even though Carrey was stunt casting, I thought he was trying, and wasn't just doing his greatest hits. The problem is I just didn't enjoy watching any of this, and any good work he did was drowned out for me by the bad writing and by Baldwin. And as long as they continue to be so unsure what to do with Biden, then the idea of Carrey continuing to do this for 4 more years (if Biden wins) is a bit sobering. I am hoping he will go after the election, and if they need to keep Biden around, we'll get a cast member, and more focused writing.

I have heard some people say the dress rehearsal version of the debate was better. I have no idea as I haven't sat through that again, but here is the video:

 

16 hours ago, Diana Berry said:

There is no way I would have sat that close to strangers in the audience ...test or no test.  I would have walked right out.  They should just have the zoom audience like Agt and the talk shows for a while.

The whole setup makes me nervous, and I don't see how it is sustainable. Seth Simons, who tends to write various articles critical of SNL, was confused about how they got around some of the regulations, and found some comments from an audience member which said they were paid $150 because that way they were employees. 

 

15 hours ago, helenamonster said:

I like that the new opening is very of the moment, but I'm not crazy about it as a whole. Maybe I need a few episodes for it to grow on me? The editing seemed really slow paced and didn't match with the music, and I've gotten used to them becoming flashier each time they switch up. This felt like a throwback, much more sedate, though maybe that's more appropriate for the current climate.

When the opening first started, I thought it looked cheap, but as we went through the next few images I was happier with the result. I liked the '80s style font and the use of stop-motion. They also got some beautiful shots from various people (Pete, Ego, Chloe), along with some comedy (Jost) and even haunting melancholy (Kyle looking at old cast shots in the hallway - oddly I kept wondering if he was looking at Taran Killam's photo...). Not as good as the last one, but it was much better than I might have expected on a rush job.

Edited October 5, 2020 by Pete Martell

[Milburn Stone]

11 hours ago, cpcathy said:

I really disliked the cold opening. It’s as if they let a brand new writer write it, or, someone’s teenage kid. The timing was off, even the cameras were in the wrong place at times.

I don't think the writing was the problem. The problem was the actors kept waiting for the camera to be on them before they'd say their lines. That's idiotic. The pace of the sketch should be the pace that makes it feel real, because that's what makes it feel funny. Once a sketch is rehearsed and ready to go, it's up to the director to follow the actors, not the other way around.

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, Pete Martell said:

The resemblance is why Tina was cast. Lorne was reluctant, but many people, including his doorman (I think), kept pointing out the similarity. As a few people have said over the years, the resemblance has only increased as time has passed. 

That's exactly what I thought!

[TheGreenKnight]

For me, the opening was disappointing until the remote was pulled out. I blamed that on Trump contracting COVID-19 in real life as well as precautions filming / rehearsing everything (again because of COVID-19), because they pulled their punches and then there were all the awkward pauses. The Drew Barrymoore skit was the funniest for sure.

As far as Biden, I agree that Jim Carrey was nothing like him. I hate that Harrelson didn't continue the impression at least through to Election Day, considering he was the only one that was perfect in the role, imo. He got the laughs out of me so easy.

[possibilities]

I think they said the audience members were all first responders. If that's true, then I'm sure they understand the risks and have been observing precautions and testing like crazy for months now, which would make them less llikely to be carriers than a random selection of fans or tourists (are there any tourists in NYC these days?).

From the looks of it, I thought there were two sections, each bunched close to each other but far from the other section. I was wondering if maybe they were pods of a sort-- like they invited responders from the same squads to attend together, and sat them with each other, and then the other group was from another team? That would make more sense than seating them with strangers. And 1st responders would know better than to take stupid risks. Of all people, they have seen it all and know how bad it can be.

[Tachi Rocinante]

11 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

Just making a bad joke about how old he looks in Fargo, and how relatively young he looks here. 

That's what I thought, but I wasn't sure.  Glad I held off on the snark. 😁

[Delphi]

18 hours ago, WhineandCheez said:

I think Alec toned it down a bit in deference to the fact that the president is in the hospital? I've got to say the best Biden is Woody harrelson with that giant false teeth and best line that Woody gave was he referred to a date as "19 clackity clack". Kimberly guilfoyle was hysterical. My favorite sketch though was the name change bureau I can never get enough of those funny names ever since 1975 when the Nnational Lampoon High School Yearbook parody came out.

I actually thought that alec toned it down because he wanted to show that Trump already had covid at the debate,  he even looked less orange than usual,  i assumed it was supposed to be foreshadowing. 

[Inquisitionist]

11 hours ago, Jody said:

 

     That IS Why You Should Not Fast Forward Through the Show Because You Might Miss Something ! 

 

You watch your way and I'll watch mine.  😉   Much of the material is simply UNwatchable, IMO.  

[Phishbulb]

On 10/4/2020 at 12:59 AM, Galileo908 said:

NBA Bubble Draft: This went in a direction I wasn't expecting. Drafting to see which wife/mistress/escort/side piece joins the NBA Bubble. Everyone got a chance to shine. Favorites were Heidi, the one that kept ordering BWW (dream woman material right there), and Kate. Yeah, of course she was looking for the WNBA Bubble Draft. But again, it fell flat with the audience. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. Really, it seems that this would've been right at home in Chris Rock's era back in the 90s.

Yeah, I found this sketch really culturally tone-deaf and borderline offensive. Especially lines like "Even in a pandemic, you can't keep a good ho down!" Even if they were trying to make a satirical point, it really seemed like the jokes were more at the women's expense than at the NBA players. I'm kind of surprised the female cast members in the sketch were OK with playing such unflattering caricatures.

[cdnalor]

5 minutes ago, Phishbulb said:

Yeah, I found this sketch really culturally tone-deaf and borderline offensive. Especially lines like "Even in a pandemic, you can't keep a good ho down!" Even if they were trying to make a satirical point, it really seemed like the jokes were more at the women's expense than at the NBA players. I'm kind of surprised the female cast members in the sketch were OK with playing such unflattering caricatures.

Those kind of women exist.  Why should they be immune to satire?  Nobody is forced to be a golddigger.

[heatherchandler]

36 minutes ago, Pete Martell said:

I thought it was about typical for most premieres, and sadly about typical for modern SNL (I did enjoy the show quite a bit more once they got past the repetitive/low-energy name sketch, but the execution and timing of a lot of stuff was not great), but it had Jim Carrey, and many were likely tuning in because of the idea that SNL would have tons to say. As they did not (for me only Weekend Update managed to get the feel right - the rest of the show either just ignored everything going on or instead, as in the debate, decided to just hit the rewind button because it was easier that way), I imagine the ratings will fall quite a bit...although even if the show had been excellent, they likely would have fallen, as many only tune in for that one hyped first moment (like Carrey's debut).

This article sort of summed up the approach I wish SNL would take in not ignoring modern life.

https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2020/10/snl-season-46-premiere-jim-carrey-joe-biden/616609/

This is from the other thread, but I wanted to point out this (from the Atlantic article) -

 

A sketch about the NBA bubble in which teams drafted women to stay with them in quarantine was baffling and offensive in equal measure

That was so disgusting and offensive, I am actually shocked it was on the air.

 

[Ms Blue Jay]

58 minutes ago, cdnalor said:

Those kind of women exist.  Why should they be immune to satire?  Nobody is forced to be a golddigger.

There are male golddiggers too, though.  Some stereotypes are so unbalanced and outdated that it doesn't really prove value to society to keep pushing them.  When your sketch could have easily been done in the 70s or 80s, is that really something you want to push for a late 2020 premiere?

[saber5055]

I kept seeing Fire Marshall Bill in that cold open. Not a fan of the "new Biden."

[proserpina65]

23 hours ago, peeayebee said:

The thing with Biden being distracted by the laser pointer was weird. How is that remotely like Biden? Is he distracted easily? Is he catlike? It just didn't work for me, though I understand Trump was trying to throw him off during the debate.

Yeah, that was one of the bits that didn't work for me.  It's not Biden at all.

22 hours ago, kib said:

Carry's take was really dark.  "Simmering rage hidden by a big smile" is an excellent assessment.

That's not Biden, though.  If he was portraying someone else, maybe, but for Biden it was wrong.

19 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I thought that the writers didn't actually have to change Palin speeches. 

That was what made the SNL sketch of the 2nd Trump-Clinton debate so funny, that it was almost word for word from the actual debate.  They should've adhere more to the WTF craziness of the Trump-Biden debate; it would've been much funnier.

18 hours ago, vb68 said:

I think we can also say from this episode that Harry Styles has "Friend of the Show" status. He may not be Timberlake (yet) but they obviously like him a lot. And the feeling looks mutual.

That part of the cold open WAS funny.

13 hours ago, TheGreenKnight said:

As far as Biden, I agree that Jim Carrey was nothing like him. I hate that Harrelson didn't continue the impression at least through to Election Day, considering he was the only one that was perfect in the role, imo. He got the laughs out of me so easy.

He might not have been available.

1 hour ago, Phishbulb said:

Yeah, I found this sketch really culturally tone-deaf and borderline offensive. Especially lines like "Even in a pandemic, you can't keep a good ho down!" Even if they were trying to make a satirical point, it really seemed like the jokes were more at the women's expense than at the NBA players. I'm kind of surprised the female cast members in the sketch were OK with playing such unflattering caricatures.

I thought it was funny as hell.  One of the few things that made me laugh.

[Ottis]

First, I was thankful SNL was on and big props for everyone on the show giving it a go. This ain't easy when there *isn't* a pandemic. The audience was definitely flat. I guess I don't blame them, given the circumstances. Probably desperate to be out, and laugh at SNL, and terrified at the risk it posed.

I loved the embarrassing names skit, and just wish there had been more names. I was surprised at the NBA bubble skit - very surprised. Didn't think that kind of skit would fly in today's #metoo world, whether it was based on truth or not. Also, just on a personal note, I didn't like that they spent any time on people who were into cheating with and gold digging from NBA players. 

Carey's Biden was interesting. He really nailed the set of the face and the voice. But then sometimes he would become a bit too manic to be Biden. 

I didn't know there was an actual Drew Barrymore talk show, and that the set looked like the show. The whole skit I kept wondering why they were doing it. It was one long, spacy Drew skit for me.

 

 

 

[Pete Martell]

2 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

There are male golddiggers too, though.  Some stereotypes are so unbalanced and outdated that it doesn't really prove value to society to keep pushing them.  When your sketch could have easily been done in the 70s or 80s, is that really something you want to push for a late 2020 premiere?

I had mixed feelings about the piece, as it was based on a current-ish topic and at least gave the entire female cast (minus Cecily, of course) a chance at some jokes (and a few of them, like Heidi, seemed to be stronger in performance than I tend to find them in live sketches), but I didn't think the execution was great and I can see why people felt offended.  

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

That's not Biden, though.  If he was portraying someone else, maybe, but for Biden it was wrong.

I felt like that moment was based on many of the viral/doctored videos that go around online which take Biden interview and make it seem like he's lost. It came across to me like a weird mish-mash attempt to comment on the crass dementia speculation stuff that seems like it is everywhere these days. 

They really seem to have no idea what to do with Biden and I don't see that changing. 

[Milburn Stone]

28 minutes ago, Ottis said:

I didn't know there was an actual Drew Barrymore talk show, and that the set looked like the show. The whole skit I kept wondering why they were doing it. It was one long, spacy Drew skit for me.

It reminded me a lot of the Kristen Wiig movie Welcome to Me.