S47.E10: Ariana DeBose / Bleachers

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

Ariana DeBose hosts with Roddy Ricch Bleachers as musical guest.

Airing Saturday, January 15, 2022.

[SoMuchTV]

For anyone (like me) who can’t place where you might know Ariana DeBose - if you watched Schmigadoon, she was the schoolmarm. The musical guest, can’t help you with that. 

[SomeTameGazelle]

22 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

For anyone (like me) who can’t place where you might know Ariana DeBose - if you watched Schmigadoon, she was the schoolmarm.

Loved her in Schmigadoon and I loved her song "With All of Your Heart". She was also Alyssa Greene in the Netflix musical The Prom and of course Anita in the Spielberg West Side Story.

[Ms Blue Jay]

All I know about Roddy Rich is this one song with an incredible earworm of a beat:

 

[vb68]

Roddy Ricch drops out due to Covid.

 Bleachers are now the musical guest.

Edited January 13, 2022 by vb68

[Ms Blue Jay]

I'm pretty impressed that my PVR updated that, too!

[Aileen]

I had no idea who she was, but then realized she was The Bullet in Hamilton on Broadway.

[Pete Martell]

 

[Galileo908]

Let's hope there's an actual show this time!

[formerlyfreedom]

10 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

Let's hope there's an actual show this time!

Looks like it’s happening!

[vb68]

I laughed hard at that Urkel parody. That was gold.

I think Ariana is adorable, but so far she's an afterthought except for the monologue. Hope that changes.

Awesome that Will Forte is hosting next week. Never would had predicted that.

Edited January 16, 2022 by vb68

[ebk57]

Bowen as Yao Ming made that whole sketch!  So far, that's and the Urkel short are the best things in the show.  

[Ms Blue Jay]

So besides Ariana's monologue and great singing I wasn't really feeling this episode, but then Chris Redd as Mayor Eric Adams really made me sit up and watch!  That was great!  Perfect marriage of cast member and subject, and at the exact right time for it!

Edited January 16, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[JeanJean]

"Urkel" was great. I wonder why they didn't have Cecily sing with Ariana; Cecily has a real Broadway voice. 

As a NYer, I loved the Eric Adams sketch.

I, too, hope they use Ariana more in the second half. She's hilarious and wonderful.

I like the band okay, first song more. Is it just me or do they seem to be super-influenced by Springsteen?

Edited January 16, 2022 by JeanJean

[TakomaSnark]

4 minutes ago, JeanJean said:

"Urkel" was great. I wonder why they didn't have Cecily sing with Ariana; Cecily has a real Broadway voice. 

As a NYer, I loved the Eric Adams sketch.

I, too, hope they use Ariana more in the second half. She's hilarious, and they're underusing her shamefully.

Cecily is starring off-Broadway in a revival of The Search For Signs Of Intelligent Life In The Universe.

[Galileo908]

Cold Open: Hey, we actually have a show this week! Yeah, my first Covid scare happened after I saw Spider-Man. Sadly, I tested positive earlier today, and NOT after seeing Spider-Man. (thankfully it's mild and felt like a cold. Thanks, booster!) This kida fell flat, even with Pete as Cool!Joe Biden.

Monologue: I like her already. And it's been a while since we had a cast member in the monologue. 

NBA TNT: Was dying at Tall Bowen Yang as Yao Ming. (I realized he was just standing). I did like the premise that one of the teams were out sick and were replaced by regular people and were getting their asses kicked. Pretty meh.

Urkel: Yes! I knew that this sketch was inevitable. A gritty 90s sitcom reboot that takes out the charm and fun of the original. But somehow made it better.

Ron and Donna Lacosta's Formal Emporium: Yep, this gave me flashbacks to prom, right down to "Get Low." I love sketches that bring out the exaggerated Long Island accents (being one myself), and I like that a lot of the sketch focused on Donovan. "A kid with a huge computer and two ugly friends." Stop attacking me, show. 

Eric Adams: Chris Redd as Eric Adams! I gotta say he nailed that impression so well. I have the feeling that this was the ORIGINAL cold open and went with the Biden one first instead. Eric Adams isn't nearly as cool as this sketch made him look. He sucks, and in a different way than DeBlasio was, which this sketch thankfully highlighted.

The sound mixing was awful on that first Bleachers song. Which was a shame, since it looked like they were having fun on the stage.

WU: I missed these guys. Giving absolutely zero shits this week was solely needed. I was not expecting them to cover those great clips of Elmo getting mad at Rocco. Chloe's Elmo sounded more like Baby Miss Piggy than Elmo, but I was still dying at that bit. I just loved the absurdity of Rocco doing double duty next month.

Sound of Music: This was fun. I was not expecting as many Simpsons references in this. Ariana has a great voice, and so does Kenan.

Sappho: This was a fun one. 

Longhorn Steakhouse: What IS up with "LER"? It took me too long to realize EVERYONE spoke with weird accents. Like...right around when the sketch ended and I couldn't understand a word anyone was saying.

All in all, an okay episode! Ariana DeBose was fun with what she was given, I hope she comes back. And we get WILL FORTE next week!

[Ms Blue Jay]

I wasn't knocked out by the episode, but Ariana was so natural and easy in front of the cameras.  Natural performer, you can really tell the Broadway background.  She was also on So You Think you Can Dance.

This SYTYCD performance was nice:

 

Edited January 16, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[ebk57]

This episode was...fine.  I think Ariana is fabulous and wish she had been used more and better. 

@Galileo908, I hope you recover quickly and have no long term effects!  Please take care of yourself!!

[vb68]

6 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

Sadly, I tested positive earlier today, and NOT after seeing Spider-Man. (thankfully it's mild and felt like a cold. Thanks, booster!) T

Oh no! I'm sorry to hear that! Please take care of yourself.

It was an okay episode. It felt a little low-key, which is probably to be expected. But it's very noticeable that without Cecily and Aidy both that the energy level does suffer.

Love Ariana. I only wish she could have done the whole song of America. I love it so much. 

I enjoyed the Bleachers' first song. Good beat.

An Update was great. Honestly I think that's one of the very best things Chloe has ever done on the show.

[MrWhyt]

pretty solid episode IMO. Didn't care for the bleachers and I thought Ariana didn't really stand out, for good or for bad, she was just there. WU was particularly sharp I thought.

[possibilities]

I didn't know Ariana Debose, but she made a great first impression and now I want to see more of her. I thought she was great where she got to do anything, but overall the episode was kind of middling.

I couldn't listen to the Bleachers, but I liked watching them because something about them radiates joy. So I salute them with the sound off.

I loved that they used Latifah 3 times.

[SHD]

1 hour ago, JeanJean said:

I like the band okay, first song more. Is it just me or do they seem to be super-influenced by Springsteen?

Jack Antonoff is a Jersey boy and Bruce actually guest sings on their new album - oddly, on the recorded version of the second song, the less Springsteen-y of the two!

[Jody]

1 hour ago, ebk57 said:

Bowen as Yao Ming made that whole sketch!  So far, that's and the Urkel short are the best things in the show.  

 

          I Think The Best Thing In The Show Was The Bleachers First Song ! There Was The Saxophones Which I LOVED ! There Was The Competition Between The Saxophone Player And That Main Guy Playing The Guitar ! That Blond Woman Getting In There ! I Banged My Coffee Table Like I Was Doing That Drum Roll ! That Group Including The Main Guy CAN ACTUALLY SING ! Any OF Those And ALL OF Those Things Made That First Song That I  LOVED ! I Liked The First Song Better Than The Second Song ! ! 

[Psychobunny]

I knew Ariana DeBose mostly as a phenomenal dancer but boy can she sing. I hate to say it but Kate did not sound great in comparison. Her voice is gorgeous. I also felt bad when she almost missed Kate’s fist bump when they sang I Feel Pretty and got to the lyric “gay”. She has been such an icon for the LGBTQ community.

[Jody]

1 hour ago, vb68 said:

Oh no! I'm sorry to hear that! Please take care of yourself.

It was an okay episode. It felt a little low-key, which is probably to be expected. But it's very noticeable that without Cecily and Aidy both that the energy level does suffer.

Love Ariana. I only wish she could have done the whole song of America. I love it so much. 

I enjoyed the Bleachers' first song. Good beat.

An Update was great. Honestly I think that's one of the very best things Chloe has ever done on the show.

 

         Was Aidy STILL Doing Shrill? I Also Like The Way That Main Guy Can Play The Guitar ! That STRUMMING Was Fabulous ! Also, They Are Great Singers Even IF They Are NOT Brandi Carlisle ! 

[Trini]

The gritty take on Urkel was great - except that if we had more black castmembers, they could have done parodies of the other characters.

 

1 hour ago, Galileo908 said:

Eric Adams: Chris Redd as Eric Adams! I gotta say he nailed that impression so well. I have the feeling that this was the ORIGINAL cold open and went with the Biden one first instead. Eric Adams isn't nearly as cool as this sketch made him look. He sucks, and in a different way than DeBlasio was, which this sketch thankfully highlighted.

This one was hilarious even if I didn't really know who Adams was (haven't paid attention to NYC politics in a while.) I know it's an exaggeration, but is he even halfway like that?

Has the show ever done a DiBlasio impression?

[TakomaSnark]

3 minutes ago, Jody said:

 

         Was Aidy STILL Doing Shrill? I Also Like The Way That Main Guy Can Play The Guitar ! That STRUMMING Was Fabulous ! Also, They Are Great Singers Even IF They Are NOT Brandi Carlisle ! 

Shrill aired its final episode in the spring of 2021.

[Jody]

15 minutes ago, TakomaSnark said:

Shrill aired its final episode in the spring of 2021.

        

            Where Was Aidy Tonight ? 

 

[TakomaSnark]

7 minutes ago, Jody said:

        

            Where Was Aidy Tonight ? 

 

Not sure. The SNL Standby Line didn't have any info either.

 

[Pete Martell]

2 hours ago, Trini said:

The gritty take on Urkel was great - except that if we had more black castmembers, they could have done parodies of the other characters.

This one was hilarious even if I didn't really know who Adams was (haven't paid attention to NYC politics in a while.) I know it's an exaggeration, but is he even halfway like that?

Has the show ever done a DiBlasio impression?

Punkie or Michael Che could have had a role, but for some reason Punkie wasn't there this week. I felt like they were trying to go small-scale, I guess for the "gritty" joke. I actually wish they had included a few more people because, while Chris and Kenan were excellent, this kind of fell flat for me. The lengthy plug for the Bel-Air show also annoyed me a little. 

The real Adams is...a character. Several of the comments in that sketch were his actual words.

SNL poked fun at Rudy and Bloomberg, but never had any material with de Blasio along the lines of impressions. I doubt it was out of fondness, as John Mulaney once told a story about a benefit where he was going to make some tough jokes about de Blasio and Lorne wasn't sure until de Blasio made a bit of a dig about Lorne not being from New York in his speech, leading Lorne to tell Mulaney he should go through with it. Maybe they just didn't think he was funny.

Chris was fantastic - one of his very best performances. I hope they won't run it into the ground. 

Speaking of Chris, this was his cut song from the episode. I would have included this over a few of the sketches.

 

Edited January 16, 2022 by Pete Martell

[Pete Martell]

I echo the thoughts about the show not knowing how to use Ariana DeBose - I think people who are double or triple threats are more  challenging to write for. Based on the promo and some of her interviews I thought she might not quite work in the show's format, but overall she was natural and easy to enjoy, particularly when she got some material in the back half of the episode. I never needed to see another Sound of Music revival, but she certainly nailed the singing and dancing, and the comedy too. She and Kate also worked well together in the lesbian sketch...Kate has had so many of these sketches I am almost immune to them, but this one had some good lines and a few laughs. (my favorite was probably Mikey asking people not to pronounce the f-word discovery in the wrong way). The monologue was a low point for me, due to Kate's mugging and upstaging. 

I liked the idea of the cold open, but it went on and on and the stuff with Pete as another Biden felt like they didn't know how to end it.

I'm sorry, but I just don't get much enjoyment out of watching Chloe, and this Elmo thing didn't help. There wasn't even much humor, just a very cutesy recreation of Sesame Street scenes from clips that went viral over a week ago. The whole thing felt kind of desperate, chasing old headlines.

I still think Sarah needs more material that doesn't involve shouting at the camera in a funny voice, but I enjoyed the prom sketch with Adam Sandler Pete, Sarah, and Andrew. Pete worked much better with them than I would have expected considering how isolated he often seems, and the whole thing was just cringey fun. Andrew is becoming a real strength any  time he gets a chance, even when he's just being humiliated over and over. His crazy dancing with Pete and Pete blocking his shot while  Sarah walked all the way up to the camera to shout, "We don't have a website! We barely have a phone!" gave me a laugh.

I also really enjoyed that kitchen sketch. I know people have interpreted it as anti-Southern, but Andrew is from Texas so I don't think that was the idea. I just took it as a lot of ridiculous, stupid nonsense done in a frenzy, which can be very funny (like "aw man I'm all outta cash" or the old Simma Dawn Nah sketches with Cheri Oteri). Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves (that was the most fun I've seen Alex Moffat have in a long time) and it was a good way to end the night. 

I liked the NBA sketch, but I kept thinking, as I did most of the night, it could have been shorter.

Anyway, I'm hoping for the best with Will Forte next week. 

Alison Gates and Streeter Seidell are new headwriters, in the wake of Anna Drezen leaving.

 

[Ottis]

If there is one community I care less about than Broadway, it’s … well, there isn’t one.

FF’d through nonsensical cold open and, after a bit, the monologue.

The NBA skit showed potential at the start as a vehicle for COVID commentary, then immediately dropped that for the lazy “regular people cannot beat NBA players at basketball” layups. Hardy har har.

The funny thing about the Urkel skit is, I could see someone producing that show.

The prom skit? Meh.

Some kind of NY-based skit. Don’t know them, don’t get it. FF.

Musical guest seemed fine, brought back memories of Elvis Costello and 80s pop.

WU: “Arrr, matey,” first laugh of the night. And a pope joke, nice. Great Durst joke. Elmo would have been funnier if it were just Elmo, no human face.

I was *almost* as exasperated at the Sound of Music skit as I was at the actual Sound of Music movie. Singing, cutesy, meh.

Heh, Lesbos poetry. I liked it at first when I thought they were saying the new translations were actually ancient translations ( showing ancient life was similar). Less funny as incompetent frauds. 

Longhorn Steakhouse should have played “What is Lurr,” from Haddaway.

I think I set a record for FFing an SNL ep. 
 

 

 

 

[Spartan Girl]

They wouldn’t have to work hard on making a grittier take on Urkel: he was already an obsessive stalker and a lot of his stunts wouldn’t be seen as funny anymore. But yeah best sketch of the night.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Did Ariana say that "2020 has already been an exciting year" in the monologue ?

Never heard of Bleachers before, but that first song was awesome.  Loved the energy !  Loved the saxophones !
And no one had to wear a stupid Fiji water bottle costume (looking at you Kanye).

The vocals mix was still terrible -- when are they going to hire an audio person that knows what they are doing ?

[cpcathy]

Ariana is quite a talent. She fit in with the cast well and had great energy. Plus, she is the moverlovin’ Bullet!

for some reason, I only know Jack Antanoff from who he produces music for and who he has dated. I’m sure Lena Dunham was trying to make his famous all during their relationship and it bugged me. But he seemed to be okay here, big Springsteen influence though.

Edited January 16, 2022 by cpcathy

[SHD]

1 hour ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Did Ariana say that "2020 has already been an exciting year" in the monologue ?

The vocals mix was still terrible -- when are they going to hire an audio person that knows what they are doing ?

I thought that’s what she said too! I couldn’t figure out if it was a mistake or a jab at when Biden recently said that there’s a lot to look forward to in 2020.

The vocal mix WAS terrible. Bleachers did that first song on the Tonight Show about 6 months ago and sounded 10x better. So there’s a good sound mixer just a few floors away. Maybe it’s just the SNL studio?

[vb68]

2 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Did Ariana say that "2020 has already been an exciting year" in the monologue ?

That's what I heard, but I wasn't totally sure. I sorta thought she caught it too and tried to play it off a little.

[peeayebee]

After that CO,  I now want to see Spider-Man.

I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed the NBA sketch. First off, Bowen as Yao Ming was hilarious. But also, I thought the continuing, silly joke about the random "players" subbing for the Sacramento team was always funny. The sketch went on and on, but I enjoyed it all the way.

Loved the Urkel sketch. Key & Peele did a Family Matters sketch about the dark side of Urkel, but I still laughed a lot at this one. Chris Redd was great as always.

And there he is as the new mayor. Honestly, I haven't seen any videos of Adams or really even followed what he's doing or saying, but this sketch was fantastic, and it was fantastic because of Chris. "You know what rhymes with tough. Cough. It don't, but it should." His trying to clarify his supposed misquote about unskilled workers was hilarious. 

I enjoyed Chloe's Elmo impression. I haven't seen or heard anything about Elmo's beef with Rocco, but I'm going to check that out.

The Sound of Music sketch was ok. As much as I appreciate Ariana's talent and personality, I thought her character could have been better defined. Kenan's character was the highlight.

The Cornell Sappho lecture was not good. The concept didn't work for me. Two lesbians did a fake translation of Sappho's poetry based on their lives? No, the translation was actually correct? And the Gillian Anderson vase? Meh.

What kind of accent were they doing in the Longhorn Steakhouse sketch? I think the restaurant was supposed to be in Texas, but the accents sounded to me like they were Cajun.

I listened to the first Bleachers song. Since I never heard of them, I didn't know what to expect, but I thought they were fine. I was curious about them because the lead guy was pretty funny in the promos. However, I FF'd thru the second song.

As for Ariana, she had a lot of energy, enthusiasm, and personality, but I didn't find her particularly funny. I suppose it was the writing.

[sempervivum]

11 hours ago, JeanJean said:

I like the band okay, first song more. Is it just me or do they seem to be super-influenced by Springsteen?

They sounded (and looked) almost like a tribute band. However, they were good and I enjoyed both of their numbers.

I don't know anything about Eric Adams, but Redd's impression made me howl.

[Quickbeam]

48 minutes ago, sempervivum said:

They sounded (and looked) almost like a tribute band. However, they were good and I enjoyed both of their numbers.

I’m from Jersey…..it’s so close to E-Street that I thought it *was* a deliberate tribute band.

[laugard]

3 hours ago, vb68 said:

That's what I heard, but I wasn't totally sure. I sorta thought she caught it too and tried to play it off a little.

I just thought it was deliberate lol. as At my workplace we've had to postpone or cancel so many events and services that it's become a daily occurrence to comment on how 2022 is already feeling more like 2020 than any of us wanted or expected.

[Victor the Crab]

Bowen Yang as Yao Ming, and Chris Redd as Eric Adams were the highlights of last night's show. And I was so losing it with the segway to Taco Bell in WU.

Chloe dressed up as Elmo made it look like Elmo swallowed Chloe whole!

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

I laughed hard at that Urkel parody.

Yeah, it was great. I would actually watch that show, as opposed to Will Smith's Bel-Air.

Quote

As a NYer, I loved the Eric Adams sketch.

As a non-NYer, I thought it was little too inside since I'm not sure people are that familiar with the guy outside of New York. At least not familiar enough to appreciate jokes about him. That sketch could've been about any politician who's full of himself.

Quote

After that CO,  I now want to see Spider-Man.

Me too but not enough to go to a movie theater. (And did that Joe Biden kind of sound like Nicholas Cage?)

[Pete Martell]

Punkie posted that she missed the episode because she tested positive for COVID.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYyWx8SoxAW/

[possibilities]

54 minutes ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

That sketch could've been about any politician who's full of himself.

That's why it was so funny! I don't think you have to be familiar with him to get the joke. Very often SNL will go after someone or something I'm not that familiar with, but most of the time I think the humor of it doesn't depend on knowing the thing they're referencing.

 

[rmontro]

The Urkel skit was awesome.

Loved the look on Kate McKinnon's face when Ariana DeBose started singing.

I thought Longhorn Steakhouse was funny.  I didn't understand it at all, but I still thought it was funny, Ler.  At first I thought they were making fun of Cajun accents, but nope they were in Texas.  I don't get it.

[SoMuchTV]

19 hours ago, Psychobunny said:

I knew Ariana DeBose mostly as a phenomenal dancer but boy can she sing. I hate to say it but Kate did not sound great in comparison. Her voice is gorgeous. I also felt bad when she almost missed Kate’s fist bump when they sang I Feel Pretty and got to the lyric “gay”. She has been such an icon for the LGBTQ community.

I thought that was part of the joke. Is Kate actually known as a singer?  I know some other cast members are, but I don’t remember that about Kate. 

[vb68]

8 hours ago, laugard said:

I just thought it was deliberate lol. as At my workplace we've had to postpone or cancel so many events and services that it's become a daily occurrence to comment on how 2022 is already feeling more like 2020 than any of us wanted or expected.

That could be. It wouldn't be the first time I didn't get something.

8 hours ago, Victor the Crab said:

Chloe dressed up as Elmo made it look like Elmo swallowed Chloe whole!

Ha, You aren't wrong.  

30 minutes ago, rmontro said:

I thought Longhorn Steakhouse was funny.  I didn't understand it at all, but I still thought it was funny, Ler.  At first I thought they were making fun of Cajun accents, but nope they were in Texas.  I don't get it.

Andrew Dismukes is Cajun and from Texas. There you go. I think it's a safe assumption he had a hand in writing it if he didn't write the whole thing by himself.

15 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

I thought that was part of the joke. Is Kate actually known as a singer?  I know some other cast members are, but I don’t remember that about Kate. 

Yes. That joke I understood. Kate was deliberately highlighting the difference for comedy with her singing.

Edited January 17, 2022 by vb68

[Victor the Crab]

10 hours ago, vb68 said:

Yes. That joke I understood. Kate was deliberately highlighting the difference for comedy with her singing.

I thought Kate was a very good singer. Not at the level of Ariana DeBose mind you, but still very good that she can hold her own!

[peeayebee]

10 hours ago, vb68 said:

Andrew Dismukes is Cajun and from Texas.

I didn't know that about him, and I also didn't know that there's a big Cajun presence in southeastern Texas (which I just googled), so... The More You Know™.