S46.E03: Issa Rae / Justin Bieber

[Melina22]

11 hours ago, mtlchick said:

As an English Canadian born and raised in Montreal, I don't know if I should be confused, bemused, insulted, all 3 or none of the above at Bonjour/Hi!

Another English Canadian here, also raised in Montreal, and I watched the whole sketch with a giant smile on my face. I think it was partly surprise and shock that they did it at all. Bowen was so good! Kate's accent was way sketchier but I forgive her because she's always fun to watch. I've been away from Montreal for 3 years and can't visit now because of Covid so I loved the shoutouts to Montreal bagels (best in the world), Montreal traffic (currently a world class nightmare) and Bonjour Hi! which I miss hearing. 

Issa was funny too with her TO searches for Drake. 

I haven't seen the rest yet, but for me, this sketch was a delight. 

[TV Anonymous]

Ex-Montrealer here. Good parts of CBC sketch:

1. Montreal bagel. Yes it is more like a ring than the doughnut shape bagel, but it tastes oh so good.
2. Tabarnak! Le traffic! Yes, city of millions orange cones.
3. Shout-out to Jacques-Cartier bridge, and an indirect one to the Big O, or as I like to put it, the Big Owe.

Bad / dubious parts:

1. McKinnon's Parisian accent and mention of Peugeot. Quebec automotive industry is North American. French autos abandoned the market decades ago.
2. And that is one pet peeve of mine. Often, I find that the perception of the rest of North America towards French Canada is to generalize them with French of France. They are completely different.
3. CBC is one-half of the company CBC/SRC. The other half is Société Radio-Canada that does their business in French. There is no French programming on CBC, all of them is on Radio-Canada.
4. French Canada is not crazy about Drake like, at all. It is a bit off-putting for the sketch to insinuate that way. 

[opus]

19 minutes ago, TV Anonymous said:

Montreal bagel. Yes it is more like a ring than the doughnut shape bagel, but it tastes oh so good.

If what they used was actually them,  it certainly looked good.

[mtlchick]

5 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

My least favorite of the live sketches was probably that Bonjour news, as that type of stuff has to be done just right, with people I love watching, to entertain me. I did like some parts (like Mikey licking the huge donut hole then regretting that he was on television, and Issa constantly mentioning Drake - and the first time Bowen snapped at Mikey), and it's nice to see Bowen branching out into different roles. That's about it...

Not a donut.  A bagel.  Montreal bagels are the best.  Better than the swill New York passes off (yeah I said, New Yorkers!  Fight me on it!) 

Turns out Bowen lived here as a kid which makes a lot more sense as why his accent is pretty close to how most French personalities speak in English.  And a good chunk of the cast has been here for the Just for Laughs festival and other projects (Kenan Thompson was here last winter filming the Home Alone reboot for Disney+) so it wouldn't surprise me if others threw in a bit of input.  That said, Kate's Parisien accent was a misfire. And if we were on the look out for someone in French Canada, it's Celine Dion.  Why would we want to find someone in Toronto? 

15 minutes ago, TV Anonymous said:

CBC is one-half of the company CBC/SRC. The other half is Société Radio-Canada that does their business in French. There is no French programming on CBC, all of them is on Radio-Canada.

CBC Montreal still exists.  Don't ask me when was the last time I watched it, but I took it as an example of French personalities who speak and work in English like Anne Marie Withenshaw or any VJ that worked at Musiqueplus (I feel very old writing that.) 

 

As for Carrey's Biden, it's hard to pin down.  Someone had suggested there's a hard crazy edge that isn't Biden.  I think he's doing it in a way that people WISHES Biden was like that and the closest we got to it is him telling Trump to shut up in the first debate. 

 

Very interested to find out who they end up booking for this week since there was no announcement last night.  But 5 weeks straight?  I get why they would want to do a Halloween show, but more surprised they're not doing a post election episode.  Dave Chapelle's 2016 episode was fire that night. 

[TV Anonymous]

10 minutes ago, mtlchick said:

CBC Montreal still exists.  Don't ask me when was the last time I watched it, but I took it as an example of French personalities who speak and work in English like Anne Marie Withenshaw or any VJ that worked at Musiqueplus (I feel very old writing that.) 

CBC Montreal of course still exists. Just like all other CBC stations across Canada and just like other English stations in Montreal. However, while CBC do have francophones working for them, they do not offer French programming

Edited October 18, 2020 by TV Anonymous

[proserpina65]

Okay, SNL needs to dump Jim Carrey as Joe Biden.  He has the voice down, but everything else is completely off.  It's more like Trump's version of Biden.

The cold open was too long again, and did not need Kamala Harris.  All they needed to do was stick with Trump's evisceration by Savannah Guthrie.

Issa Rae was fine, but the material they gave her wasn't not good.

The only funny things were Weekend Update (I will miss "I'm Eric"), BonjourHi! and the Ebay commercial.

Can't comment on Bieber 'cause I fast-forwarded through his performances.

[helenamonster]

Issa was great with what she got to do, but overall she deserved a better show. I don't know what it is but this season is just not gelling for me. I realize that they've got a lot to contend with, given covid and all the complications that's caused, but sometimes I feel like they're making things harder for themselves instead of easier. Giant bloated cast, signing people to cameos that they then have to shoehorn in to meet contractual obligations...it's not working.

I did like that this episode had some great showcases from Bowen and Chloe, who consistently hit it out of the park. Between them, Heidi, Ego, and Chris, I think the major cast exodus that we know is coming will transition smoothly.

I also like that they found a way to include Aidy remotely, and even Cecily got to feature as the voiceover for the eBay commercial. That, 5-Hour Empathy, and Issa's monologue were the highlights for me.

It wasn't until Update hit that I realized there wasn't a bumper card for next week's host/musical guest. From what I can tell there's still an episode scheduled for next week, so not sure what's up there. It would make sense for them to take 10/24 off so they can then do back-to-back episodes before and after the election, as opposed to not doing a post-election episode or doing 6 episodes in a row.

12 hours ago, vb68 said:

Speaking of Aidy, new girl Lauren Holt seems a little too  uncomfortably on the nose as her replacement in the cast.

It's kind of sad how obvious it is. I feel bad for her.

11 hours ago, Arkay said:

I think Chloe Fineman is one of the best impersonators they've ever had, but what has happened to Melissa? Did she have anything tonight besides one line in the cold open?

She also did the voiceover for the Jack Flatts sketch, but that still isn't much.

[Gbb]

I wonder what’s going on with Mikey Day’s eye(s)? In the Bonjour, Hi! sketch, both of his eyes, and especially his right eye, looked super red to me. 

[SomeTameGazelle]

4 minutes ago, TV Anonymous said:

However, while CBC do have francophones working for them, they do not offer French programming

Bonjour Hi did seem to be English programming though. 

[proserpina65]

12 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

eBay: Yeah...quarantine buyer's remorse is a total thing. I WISH PreBay was a thing. I've said "why did I buy this" quite a few times this month.

I guess I lucked out by being on a week on/week off schedule at work 'cause mostly all I bought on the internet were dvds, all of which I had time to watch.  But I loved that commercial.

 

[Fostersmom]

2 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I was getting bored with Issa's weird dates that kept showing up, so when Chris's weird one appeared, I liked that -- Not because the idea was hilarious, but because whoever played her was so funny. Who was that?

I'm pretty sure that was Punkie Johnson, one of the new cast members.  

I also saw the other 2 new members last night, the Aidy look alike, Lauren Holt, and Andrew Dismukes was in the militia sketch. I think he was also the guy who told Kyle he had Covid in the dance sketch. 

[heatherchandler]

4 minutes ago, helenamonster said:

I did like that this episode had some great showcases from Bowen and Chloe, who consistently hit it out of the park. Between them, Heidi, Ego, and Chris, I think the major cast exodus that we know is coming will transition smoothly.

I could not disagree more.  If this is who we are left with... I’m out.  Chloe and Ego are the only ones I think are funny but I’m really not blown away by them.

This episode was horrible.  I like Issa but she wasn’t great.  The writers are to blame.

I laughed a little at the eBay sketch, but I didn’t laugh at anything else.  

[Ms Blue Jay]

2 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I was getting bored with Issa's weird dates that kept showing up, so when Chris's weird one appeared, I liked that -- Not because the idea was hilarious, but because whoever played her was so funny. Who was that?

Punkie Johnson

[Robert Lynch]

16 minutes ago, Gbb said:

I wonder what’s going on with Mikey Day’s eye(s)? In the Bonjour, Hi! sketch, both of his eyes, and especially his right eye, looked super red to me. 

I wonder that, too. It is not easy when you have a kid during a pandemic and having to work on SNL. It must be stress or lack of sleep. Or watching the news...I could imagine he is worried about going to work and such. You live in an area where there is hotspots flaring around the city and I bet it adds the stress to a T. So much worry. 

Edited October 18, 2020 by Robert Lynch

[Melina22]

4 hours ago, TV Anonymous said:

• Montreal bagel. Yes it is more like a ring than the doughnut shape bagel, but it tastes oh so good.
• Tabarnak! Le traffic! Yes, city of millions orange cones.
• Shout-out to Jacques-Cartier bridge, and an indirect one to the Big O, or as I like to put it, the Big Owe.

Love your post. I forgot the shout outs to the bridge and the big O. I understand why non Montrealers didn't get the sketch, but I enjoyed it so much. I just read that Bowden spent time living in Montreal, which explains a lot! 

I listened to some of both of Justin's songs and as someone who's managed to avoid him forever, I was surprised at what a great voice he has. But that last song was so sad and so personal. It will always be hard to empathize with the angst and sadness of rich and powerful people, but this still touched me. He really was destroyed by his early meteoric rise to fame. Nothing can undo that damage. 

4 hours ago, opus said:

If what they used was actually them,  it certainly looked good.

I always bought the bagels from the famous St. Viateur bakery, and they were sort of irregular, like in the sketch, but quite a bit smaller. With sesame seeds or poppy seeds. Okay, now I'm craving them toasted with lox and cream cheese and a sliver of red onion. 

Edited October 18, 2020 by Melina22

[Joimiaroxeu]

Still don't understand why Jim Carrey is choosing to portray Biden as a nonsensical goofball.

Serengeti Guthrie.

Candace Owen in a wig.

Drake watch. Eh.

Times Square Elsa. Is that really a thing?

Slow news week for WE? That 80's cocaine wife thing went on way too long for me.

I liked the way Issa let them take down her the "voting for everybody Black" thing. Because Kanye.

Does SNL have something against Sonic burgers or is that something actually going on in Michigan? (Issues with the burger chain, not the attempted kidnapping of the governor.)

Edited October 18, 2020 by Joimiaroxeu

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, mtlchick said:

Not a donut.  A bagel.  Montreal bagels are the best.  Better than the swill New York passes off (yeah I said, New Yorkers!  Fight me on it!) 

Turns out Bowen lived here as a kid which makes a lot more sense as why his accent is pretty close to how most French personalities speak in English.  And a good chunk of the cast has been here for the Just for Laughs festival and other projects (Kenan Thompson was here last winter filming the Home Alone reboot for Disney+) so it wouldn't surprise me if others threw in a bit of input.  That said, Kate's Parisien accent was a misfire. And if we were on the look out for someone in French Canada, it's Celine Dion.  Why would we want to find someone in Toronto? 

CBC Montreal still exists.  Don't ask me when was the last time I watched it, but I took it as an example of French personalities who speak and work in English like Anne Marie Withenshaw or any VJ that worked at Musiqueplus (I feel very old writing that.) 

 

As for Carrey's Biden, it's hard to pin down.  Someone had suggested there's a hard crazy edge that isn't Biden.  I think he's doing it in a way that people WISHES Biden was like that and the closest we got to it is him telling Trump to shut up in the first debate. 

 

Very interested to find out who they end up booking for this week since there was no announcement last night.  But 5 weeks straight?  I get why they would want to do a Halloween show, but more surprised they're not doing a post election episode.  Dave Chapelle's 2016 episode was fire that night. 

Next week the host will be Adele with musical guest H.E.R.

[rejnel]

There was so much more comedy to mine in the SCOTUS hearings than in the town halls (and Carrey’s unwatchable take on Biden). The show just isn’t finding its footing this year. Granted, everything is harder than usual . . . 

[ruby24]

I see that no one seems to like Carrey's Biden. Even Vanity Fair titled their recap "SNL has a Jim Carrey Problem."

Sigh. I said this the second I heard he was announced! I KNEW that whatever he did wasn't going to be anything like Joe Biden, just nutty Jim Carrey as usual. I don't know why they couldn't see it.

They should have just had Jason Sudeikis stay on. Everyone knows his Biden already and has liked him since the beginning. I even think Maya's Kamala would be better paired with him. Too bad.

[Robert Lynch]

1 hour ago, Melina22 said:

Love your post. I forgot the shout outs to the bridge and the big O. I understand why non Montrealers didn't get the sketch, but I enjoyed it so much. I just read that Bowden spent time living in Montreal, which explains a lot! 

I listened to some of both of Justin's songs and as someone who's managed to avoid him forever, I was surprised at what a great voice he has. But that last song was so sad and so personal. It will always be hard to empathize with the angst and sadness of rich and powerful people, but this still touched me. He really was destroyed by his early meteoric rise to fame. Nothing can undo that damage. 

The Lonely video actually features Jacob Tremblay as the young Justin Bieber. It is actually a good video in the vain of Whitney Houston's Greatest Love of All since I think that was the vibe they were going for. It is pretty much Jacob just wearing his 2010 Never Say Never outfit and just walking to the stage to lip sync Justin's voice, with the camera ending at the real Justin watching in the empty crowd.

[saber5055]

35 minutes ago, ruby24 said:

I see that no one seems to like Carrey's Biden. Even Vanity Fair titled their recap "SNL has a Jim Carrey Problem."

No kidding. When I saw the cold open was going to feature yet another Fire Marshall Biden, I left the room and didn't watch it. After reading comments here, I did watch the video clip today and discovered I didn't miss anything by skipping it live, and am sorry I wasted 10 minutes viewing the clip. This show really needs to watch the real Biden to know how off base Carrey is. He's not even close to an impersonation. If he continues as Biden, I will continue to not watch when he is on.

I didn't know Issa, but liked her in everything she was in. I liked the date sketch (except for that questionable gross term that they kept repeating) and the 5-Hour Empathy, Ady's bit, the dance off in the hall ... pretty much all of the show kept my attention, but the only thing that made me burst out with a LOL was WU, Che's "We have a type." And I always like the Trump boys showing up. Cocaine girlfriend went on a bit long though. I LOVED Bowen in the Bonjour Hi sketch. He is my favorite and hope to see more of him.

I discovered I like Bieber's "Oh God" song better on the radio while not watching him. And I find it difficult to relate to someone depressed and feeling sorry for themselves because they are famous and wealthy. Maybe if I could try it, just once, I could feel sympathy. But since I cannot, I found his second song way self indulgent.

Nice to see Chance, even if for just a wee bit.

[juno]

Aside from WU, that was unwatchable. As a Western Canadian I hated the Drake sketch not because I was offended but because it was not funny. I would ask the writers that the next time you want to make fun of Canadians try to make fun of Canadians that are popular today and not last century.

The Trump, Biden stuff is also unwatchable. Putting make up on actors and exaggerating their manerisms does not substitute for poor writing. You need jokes to make it funny just like the rest of the show.

They come up with interesting skits that have interesting themes but can't sell them because the writing is so poor and they still can't find a way to end skits.

Beiber takes himself way too seriously and is way too arrogant. Go away dude.

[rmontro]

Not much to say about this one, I liked the cold open and the host but the show was one of the weaker ones.  A lot of people don't seem to like Carrey's Biden, but I always get a couple of laughs out of him.

I liked Bieber's second song better than the first.  But lyrically he was basically saying "I'm rich and famous from a young age, but no one listens to me so I'm lonely".  I wonder how many people can relate to that.  It's got to be better than having nothing from a young age and no one listening to you, right?

[eskimo]

I'm in the MTN time zone and there were a lot of technical problems here.  I was curious if it was the program, or our local station airing it, but since nobody has mentioned it I'm guessing it must have been a local problem.  Twice the bumper pics were up so long I thought I'd paused the show and then with Bieber's first performance, Issa introduced him, it cut to a full commercial break, then came back a few seconds into the song.  Very weird.  On top of that it was really just a boring episode for me and I didn't even realize until I came here that I don't think I watched it all.  I have no memory of an eBay sketch.  Might have been running during one of the extremely long bumper pics I guess.  Who knows.  Was a mess in my locale. 

Edited October 18, 2020 by eskimo

[BC4ME]

I hate Carrey's Biden impression. If they have to have him, can't they at least make the CO shorter? I fast forwarded through most his parts. I love Issa Rae but she didn't get much to work with. There were a few funny moments but I liked last week way better. It was best of the three so far IMO. But then, I'm a huge Bill Burr fan.

[Pete Martell]

2 hours ago, ruby24 said:

I see that no one seems to like Carrey's Biden. Even Vanity Fair titled their recap "SNL has a Jim Carrey Problem."

Sigh. I said this the second I heard he was announced! I KNEW that whatever he did wasn't going to be anything like Joe Biden, just nutty Jim Carrey as usual. I don't know why they couldn't see it.

They should have just had Jason Sudeikis stay on. Everyone knows his Biden already and has liked him since the beginning. I even think Maya's Kamala would be better paired with him. Too bad.

I read the article - I agreed with parts (although I didn't think Issa was that poorly used), but not so much with others - mainly the "America needs a good Joe Biden." Lorne and NBC only have themselves to blame for being in that position by putting so much emphasis on the election material, but America's fate does not rest on a sketch comedy impression. 

I personally would love to see Jason Sudeikis on the show again, but I am still not sure he fits current Biden. With that said, I imagine Lorne chose based on a ratings spike, not on who fits, so maybe once the election is over they will either ask Jason to return (if Biden wins), or go with a cast member. I can't see Carrey wanting to stay around for 4 years. 

Cut for time sketch:

 

[Robert Lynch]

Was that Issa Rae as the nodding woman who twerked in the cold opening? Sure looks like her.

[Jody]

5 hours ago, mtlchick said:

Not a donut.  A bagel.  Montreal bagels are the best.  Better than the swill New York passes off (yeah I said, New Yorkers!  Fight me on it!) 

Turns out Bowen lived here as a kid which makes a lot more sense as why his accent is pretty close to how most French personalities speak in English.  And a good chunk of the cast has been here for the Just for Laughs festival and other projects (Kenan Thompson was here last winter filming the Home Alone reboot for Disney+) so it wouldn't surprise me if others threw in a bit of input.  That said, Kate's Parisien accent was a misfire. And if we were on the look out for someone in French Canada, it's Celine Dion.  Why would we want to find someone in Toronto? 

CBC Montreal still exists.  Don't ask me when was the last time I watched it, but I took it as an example of French personalities who speak and work in English like Anne Marie Withenshaw or any VJ that worked at Musiqueplus (I feel very old writing that.) 

 

As for Carrey's Biden, it's hard to pin down.  Someone had suggested there's a hard crazy edge that isn't Biden.  I think he's doing it in a way that people WISHES Biden was like that and the closest we got to it is him telling Trump to shut up in the first debate. 

 

Very interested to find out who they end up booking for this week since there was no announcement last night.  But 5 weeks straight?  I get why they would want to do a Halloween show, but more surprised they're not doing a post election episode.  Dave Chapelle's 2016 episode was fire that night. 

 

          That Is A Good Point About Wanting A Halloween Episode ! I Did Not Think About That ! I Thought IT Was Because They Had ALL Those Repeats And Then The AT Home Episodes AND The Repeats Over The Summer ! ! ! They Make History With How Long They Have Been On And The Kind OF TV show They Are And Other Ways So, I Thought They Wanted To Make More History By Having FIVE Shows In A Row ! You Do Have A Very Good Point About Having An Post Election Show !

[M.CoatesworthHay]

Count me in as another Canadian who loved the Bonjour - Hi sketch. I figured there was a Québécois(e) on the writing staff. Didn't know Bowen had lived in Montréal. I agree that the Peugeot reference was weird, though. And I would have gone with a Quebec singer, not Drake. 

Edited October 18, 2020 by M.CoatesworthHay

[Jody]

9 hours ago, helenamonster said:

Issa was great with what she got to do, but overall she deserved a better show. I don't know what it is but this season is just not gelling for me. I realize that they've got a lot to contend with, given covid and all the complications that's caused, but sometimes I feel like they're making things harder for themselves instead of easier. Giant bloated cast, signing people to cameos that they then have to shoehorn in to meet contractual obligations...it's not working.

I did like that this episode had some great showcases from Bowen and Chloe, who consistently hit it out of the park. Between them, Heidi, Ego, and Chris, I think the major cast exodus that we know is coming will transition smoothly.

I also like that they found a way to include Aidy remotely, and even Cecily got to feature as the voiceover for the eBay commercial. That, 5-Hour Empathy, and Issa's monologue were the highlights for me.

It wasn't until Update hit that I realized there wasn't a bumper card for next week's host/musical guest. From what I can tell there's still an episode scheduled for next week, so not sure what's up there. It would make sense for them to take 10/24 off so they can then do back-to-back episodes before and after the election, as opposed to not doing a post-election episode or doing 6 episodes in a row.

It's kind of sad how obvious it is. I feel bad for her.

She also did the voiceover for the Jack Flatts sketch, but that still isn't much.

        Hello Helenamonster. I Found Out That They Will Have Adele As The Host And HER Will Be The Musical Guest Next Saturday Which Is October 24th ! !

4 hours ago, BC4ME said:

I hate Carrey's Biden impression. If they have to have him, can't they at least make the CO shorter? I fast forwarded through most his parts. I love Issa Rae but she didn't get much to work with. There were a few funny moments but I liked last week way better. It was best of the three so far IMO. But then, I'm a huge Bill Burr fan.

              The Only Host I Knew Was Chris Rock, But I Also Liked Last Week Which Is The Second Show The Best ! Sorry  About The Run On Sentence !

[Ms Blue Jay]

5 hours ago, ruby24 said:

I see that no one seems to like Carrey's Biden. Even Vanity Fair titled their recap "SNL has a Jim Carrey Problem."

What's funny is that my family are all big Jim Carrey fans (and we're all Canadian, just as he is) and every show they're just raving to me about how much they love him.

[marketdoctor]

I liked Jim Carrey's Biden more than most people...but I didn't think the sketch was as funny as it could have been.  (As others have noted, it went on too long, and this is a time when an understated Biden would have worked better.  For example, the Mr. Rogers bit was funny; the transition to Bob Ross sounds like it COULD have been funny...but it wasn't.)  Jim Carrey can play more understated (The Majestic, and to some degree The Truman Show); maybe he'll find his footing after the inevitable Third Debate sketch.

Heidi Gardner was also in the "I like her, but the bit was too long" in 80's cocaine wife.  The joke about the director at the end was cute, but almost lost in the wrap-up.

I even get why they had a huge cast, because if there is a COVID outbreak, they still have people who can make a show...but they aren't quite gelled on which bits to air and which ones to cut.

 

 

 

[Jody]

1 hour ago, Pete Martell said:

I read the article - I agreed with parts (although I didn't think Issa was that poorly used), but not so much with others - mainly the "America needs a good Joe Biden." Lorne and NBC only have themselves to blame for being in that position by putting so much emphasis on the election material, but America's fate does not rest on a sketch comedy impression. 

I personally would love to see Jason Sudeikis on the show again, but I am still not sure he fits current Biden. With that said, I imagine Lorne chose based on a ratings spike, not on who fits, so maybe once the election is over they will either ask Jason to return (if Biden wins), or go with a cast member. I can't see Carrey wanting to stay around for 4 years. 

Cut for time sketch:

 

 

            Hey Pete. I May Be Wrong, But I Disagree With Every Body Else ! I Think Jason Would Be Fine AT This time Playing Joe Biden ! Jason Was Joe Biden When Joe Biden Won North Carolina In The Primary ! I Think Jason Could Make Changes IF He Needed To Do That To Play Joe Biden ! How Ever, Jason Is Playing Tad Lasso On That TV Show About The Foot Ball Coach On The Soccer Team ! Maybe, Lorne Did Not Get Jason Because He Knew Jason Would Not Be Available !

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, Robert Lynch said:

Was that Issa Rae as the nodding woman who twerked in the cold opening? Sure looks like her.

That was Ego.

3 hours ago, juno said:

Aside from WU, that was unwatchable. As a Western Canadian I hated the Drake sketch not because I was offended but because it was not funny. I would ask the writers that the next time you want to make fun of Canadians try to make fun of Canadians that are popular today and not last century.

LOL, as a Canadian, I must ask, like who?!

Edited October 19, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[Jody]

12 minutes ago, marketdoctor said:

I liked Jim Carrey's Biden more than most people...but I didn't think the sketch was as funny as it could have been.  (As others have noted, it went on too long, and this is a time when an understated Biden would have worked better.  For example, the Mr. Rogers bit was funny; the transition to Bob Ross sounds like it COULD have been funny...but it wasn't.)  Jim Carrey can play more understated (The Majestic, and to some degree The Truman Show); maybe he'll find his footing after the inevitable Third Debate sketch.

Heidi Gardner was also in the "I like her, but the bit was too long" in 80's cocaine wife.  The joke about the director at the end was cute, but almost lost in the wrap-up.

I even get why they had a huge cast, because if there is a COVID outbreak, they still have people who can make a show...but they aren't quite gelled on which bits to air and which ones to cut.

 

 

 

 

            That IS A Good Point About IF Any Body Will Get The Corona Virus ! I Did NOT Think About That ! I Just Thought They Had The Big Cast For When Several People Will Leave !

[possibilities]

Those Montreal bagels look like what I was raised calling a bialy. I wonder if they're the same thing, or just look that way. 

I liked the line about everything being 20% different. 

[Winston Wolfe]

2 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

Cut for time sketch:

That had the potential to be the episode's highlight ("I can't tell if you've seen the show, or are just making stuff up" - damn hilarious!) Other than WU (and Che was indeed in top form), last night was, to quote Jake Tapper, "a hot mess, inside a dumpster fire, looking for a plane crash." I've been in love with Issa Rae for a while now. She's radiant, charming, with a delightful nervous energy. Plus she seems to be one of the few celebrities that would be fun to hang with IRL. But the writers didn't seem to have a clue on what to do with Issa, other than the "woke Black girl" trope that really didn't work here.

[possibilities]

23 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

What's funny is that my family are all big Jim Carrey fans (and we're all Canadian, just as he is) and every show they're just raving to me about how much they love him.

That's because he was very Jim Carrey! But he didn't seem like Biden.

I feel the same about Maya Rudolph, actually. She mugs, and every character she plays is exactly the same.

I think Joe and Kamala are both really distinct personalities and deserve better protrayals than  just "actor with exaggerated schtick does their own schtick like they always do." 

[Winston Wolfe]

4 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Those Montreal bagels look like what I was raised calling a bialy. I wonder if they're the same thing, or just look that way. 

Being a transplanted New Yorker now in the Garden State, there's nothing like a toasted Bialy with butter and jelly, washed down with a good Cup of Joe (Coffee, that is, not the former VP).

Edited October 19, 2020 by Winston Wolfe

[Ms Blue Jay]

 

3 hours ago, possibilities said:

That's because he was very Jim Carrey! But he didn't seem like Biden.

No, my family is smarter than you are assuming.  Not everyone feels the same about Carrey's performance is my point.

Edited October 19, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[vb68]

I liked the cut for time sketch. That was a good use of Issa. That seemed like something she might have even written herself.

And to be sure, Lovecraft Country is indeed an extremely difficult show to describe to somebody else. I know. I've tried to do it a few times, and they all look back at me with a "HUH?"

[kib]

RE: The “NBC:We have a type” joke. I hope that stung hard to every network weasel who is keeping their swimming pool warm off the tens of millions of dollars each of those three criminals raked in for the company.

[shapeshifter]

16 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

There's really no reason to keep having Maya show up.  The last consistently newsworthy VP candidate was Palin - aside from the VP debate and some members of her team testing positive for Covid Harris has been even more invisible than Biden was in 08 (at least he said some stupid stuff). 

I really appreciate Maya’s take on Kamala, but the writing was weak and awkward, i.e., “shoehorned in.”

They missed the opportunity to do a flirty thing between Amy Coney Barrett and Repub. Sen. Sasse, IMO, especially with such a big cast. 
 

Add me to those who were surprised at Bieber’s quality singing. Maybe he’s maturing. 

Edited October 19, 2020 by shapeshifter

[heatherchandler]

11 hours ago, helenamonster said:

I did like that this episode had some great showcases from Bowen and Chloe, who consistently hit it out of the park. Between them, Heidi, Ego, and Chris, I think the major cast exodus that we know is coming will transition smoothly.

I could not disagree more.  If this is who we are left with... I’m out.  Chloe and Ego are the only ones I think are funny but I’m really not blown away by them.

This episode was horrible.  I like Issa but she wasn’t great.  The writers are to blame.

I laughed a little at the eBay sketch, but I didn’t laugh at anything else.  

[EtheltoTillie]

Why don’t we see Cecily Strong?

 

[HC87]

I could watch Heidi Gardner do characters for 90 minutes every Saturday....Carla, the Cocaine Wife was easily the funniest part of the show last night...love her!

[RobertDeSneero]

17 hours ago, mtlchick said:

As for Carrey's Biden, it's hard to pin down.  Someone had suggested there's a hard crazy edge that isn't Biden.  I think he's doing it in a way that people WISHES Biden was like that and the closest we got to it is him telling Trump to shut up in the first debate. 

I think they've taken Trump's "Sleepy Joe" nickname and decided to make their Biden the complete opposite of that.

[mtlchick]

6 hours ago, GussieK said:

Why don’t we see Cecily Strong?

 

She’s doing a project in Vancouver so she won’t be appearing live, just in pre taped bits.

[Ottis]

I think it is hilarious that so many of these comments are from people from Montreal, which is French-Canadian and French people are stereotyped as whiney complainers, complaining about how inauthentic the skit was.

[EtheltoTillie]

1 hour ago, Ottis said:

I think it is hilarious that so many of these comments are from people from Montreal, which is French-Canadian and French people are stereotyped as whiney complainers, complaining about how inauthentic the skit was.

Also funny:  both Jim Carrey and Justin Bieber are Canadian-born.