S47.E13: John Mulaney / LCD Soundsystem

[LADreamr]

Just now, vb68 said:

He did get indirectly referenced, though.

Oh I missed that!  I'll have to rewatch.

[vb68]

4 minutes ago, LADreamr said:

Oh I missed that!  I'll have to rewatch.

Tina Fey said something like you wrote that character with Bill Hader.

[LADreamr]

2 minutes ago, vb68 said:

Tina Fey said something like you wrote that character with Bill Hader.

Oh yes! I did hear that. "And then 800 other forgettable things."

[Irlandesa]

58 minutes ago, JeanJean said:

Serious question: Do people who don't live in NYC enjoy the NYC-specific material (like the musical sketch)?

Yes because I like musical theater.  Do I get every joke?  No but us NYCers do get a lot of New York through TV so it's not all over our heads.  I do agree with others that the lyrics felt a little underdone.  I think the best musicals have been the first two with diminishing returns on the rest.

I was happy to get a sequel to the Cha Cha Slide skit.  The original is a fave.  I liked this one too but it felt less rehearsed compared to the original.

I still wonder if they're going to give Rudd a do-over hosting opportunity this season.

[possibilities]

22 minutes ago, LADreamr said:

37 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

I was expecting the sketch to build to them starting the Ten Timers Club since the Five Timers got too big

That's a great idea, actually.

Inflation has gotten really bad lately.

--

I don't know why I like LCD Soundsystem. I had never heard them before. But I liked them. I couldn't even understand most of the lyrics, but from what I gathered, it might not matter. Listening, i was reminded of my ex, who was a big Talking Heads fan back in their heyday. She came to me one day and played one of their songs and said to me: "I like this. I can't explain." 

[Mediocre Gatsby]

1 hour ago, ebk57 said:

My memories of 1980 are a little hazy...

Slime! 

44 minutes ago, vb68 said:

Love the bumper with Baby Malcolm!

He looked like he was wearing a vest and pants from a suit. Adorable. 

38 minutes ago, JeanJean said:

Mono: Funny and touching (but I couldn't help thinking of his wife)

Me too, especially when he said that the thing that he and Malcolm have in common is not speaking up when they're in terrible situations. I don't know if he meant his marriage, but that's what it made me think of. 

41 minutes ago, saoirse said:

Paul Rudd going over to the Ukrainian singers during the goodnights…the onions and the dust all over again, goddammit!

And Paul reaching out to help Candace up onto the stage. 

One thing I noticed: at the end of the Five Timers sketch, Tina went over and got John's discarded suit jacket and gave it to a stage person, instead of making someone scramble up onstage and pick it up. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

3 minutes ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:

And Paul reaching out to help Candace up onto the stage. 

For goodness sake!  this is overkill.  He's perfect.

[Psychobunny]

I agree that the five timer’s club seemed like it was supposed to be the cold open. Good for them for changing to the chorus but still including it. They definitely dropped all the guests on WU to fit it in.

 I love John Mulaney but the problem is that once he has a great sketch they keep redoing the same thing over and over. The original diner Les Miz was brilliant and bodega bathroom was good but they have been somewhat forgettable since. I also loved the Cha Cha Slide sketch but this was basically a copy that didn’t need to happen. I don’t think it added anything. 
 

All of the five timers are awesome and I like that Paul Rudd got to appear in one sketch and that the whole Ukrainian choir was on stage for the good nights. 
 

I didn’t like the first song from the musical guest but the second was better and definitely gave me Talking Heads vibes.

Finally, the picture of that chubby little baby just killed me.Between him, the dog and the fluffy white cat it was too much cuteness to bear.

[JeanJean]

15 minutes ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:

Me too, especially when he said that the thing that he and Malcolm have in common is not speaking up when they're in terrible situations. I don't know if he meant his marriage, but that's what it made me think of. 

I can't remember the details (if anyone but them really knows the details) but I remember reading something like she was just blindsided by the breakup and his new relationship. Maybe everything just happened very fast. So I felt sad for her.

Edited February 27, 2022 by JeanJean
forgot an "s"

[Gemma Violet]

1 hour ago, JeanJean said:

 

Serious question: Do people who don't live in NYC enjoy the NYC-specific material (like the musical sketch)?

I live in the South and I love the musical sketches.  However, I'm a big Broadway fan and I recognize the songs (plus I know there are things like puddles on Subway floors--lol). 

Maybe if you don't know BW, it's not as enjoyable.

[Lantern7]

You can't go wrong with dogs. You really can't go wrong with John Mulaney hosting.

1 hour ago, Galileo908 said:

You Can't Do That on Television

*sigh* I didn't have cable growing up in Brooklyn. I wound up with that after I turned 16 and moved out. Before then, I'd watch cable mostly when I went to Yonkers to visit my paternal grandmother. Needless to say, I missed out on a lot, including YCDTOT. Lucky for me, Double Dare wound up syndicated.

That white pug has popped up on SNL a few times, right? Great sketch.

Seriously cannot believe Conan came for the Five-Timers sketch. NBC seriously railed him with the late night deal, and I wouldn't blame him for having a grudge even now.

Who was the guy taking Pete's place in the Subway sketch?

Edited February 27, 2022 by Lantern7

[SHD]

9 minutes ago, Psychobunny said:

The original diner Les Miz was brilliant and bodega bathroom was good but they have been somewhat forgettable since. I also loved the Cha Cha Slide sketch but this was basically a copy that didn’t need to happen. I don’t think it added anything. 

I would disagree about the musical sketches diminishing as they go along. Airport Sushi was one of my favorites. They definitely vary in success, for sure, though I don’t dislike any of them.

I do agree about the Cha Cha Slide do-over. It didn’t really need to exist but I do love watching John Mulaney do the ridiculous line dance motions.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Without the subway musical sketch I think the sketches would be pretty bad.  I didn't really like the sketches tonight.  I liked the monologue and the five timers club.

1 hour ago, Galileo908 said:

You Can't Do That on Television: Finally, a sketch for ME! I didn't know anyone besides me remembered Nick Cannon was on All That. That was also not a good Marc Summers, but it's also the first time I've ever seen a Marc Summers impression. Yeah, some bits on YCDTOTV haven't aged well (which is why they showed the slime bit and not the one with the kids at the firing squad). I laughed so hard at the slime being shot in Mulaney and Sarah's faces. The Pete from Pete & Pete has to be Big Pete. No one really cares about him.

I was surprised that Kenan wasn't in this sketch, being Mr. Nickelodeon and all that. I think Nick Cannon was supposed to be him.

Robinson Family Reunion: YES! A sequel to the Cha Cha Slide sketch! I had no idea this song was called Cupid Shuffle and this version was silly.

I guess these sketches were okay.  But the ones before them..... not for me.  I also thought WU was pretty whatever tonight, especially Michael Che's horrible joke about a Russian prostitute.  So embarrassingly low brow, like Jay Leno. 

Edited February 27, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, vb68 said:

Love the bumper with Baby Malcolm!

Are we sure that was Malcolm?  I thought he looked a little big for 3 months but I'm not a parent so I don't know.

32 minutes ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:

Me too, especially when he said that the thing that he and Malcolm have in common is not speaking up when they're in terrible situations. I don't know if he meant his marriage, but that's what it made me think of. 

He said uncomfortable situations so the nuance is little different that I didn't think bad marriage but rather awkward situations.

As for Conan, he might still have a grudge against NBC but he probably loves Lorne who hired him and then pushed for him to take over The Late Show after Letterman moved to CBS. He was the EP.

[vb68]

21 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Are we sure that was Malcolm?  I thought he looked a little big for 3 months but I'm not a parent so I don't know.

I was just making an assumption.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

3 hours ago, Fostersmom said:

Reportedly, no Pete tonight. I read he's filming another movie. 

So we were thankfully spared an update on his love life 

 

[sheetmoss]

People keep saying there was a monologue, in the Chicago airing, the show opening went from the choir to the dog food commercial.

Edited February 27, 2022 by sheetmoss

[Slade347]

3 hours ago, JeanJean said:

Serious question: Do people who don't live in NYC enjoy the NYC-specific material (like the musical sketch)?

I don't live in NYC and I'm generally not a fan of musicals but I usually enjoy these sketches that Mulaney and company do when he hosts the show. I will say that even though I don't live in NYC that I do feel pop culture is so NYC focused that if you're a pop culture fan you should be able to recognize most of the references.  

Anyway, this was another fun episode with Mulaney as host,  I think my favorite was the slime sketch, but I'm not sure there wasn't anything I didn't enjoy. Conan's cameo (and his little drunk gesture after his flub) was great and it was nice seeing Paul Rudd get his due as a Five Timer. I do hope he gets to host again soon. The Ukrainian singers was a lovely touch to start the show and Rudd's interaction with them during the good nights was wonderful to see.

When was the last time WU involved just the two anchors?

Edited February 27, 2022 by Slade347

[Mediocre Gatsby]

8 minutes ago, sheetmoss said:

People keep saying there was a monologue, in the Chicago airing, the show opening went from the choir to the dog food commercial.

I don't know if it'll stay up long

[Pete Martell]

Cut sketches:

 

The dog food ad (which I really enjoyed, even if, when they got to the part about the dog not walking, I kept thinking of John's dog, Petunia, which now lives with his ex-wife) featured the return of a character/brand first seen 8 years ago (!). I enjoy that sketch so was glad to get a reprisal, even if I never expected it. 

On a final trivia note, if you listen to LCD Soundsystem's second performance, the lead singer does an Angelo tribute at the end. Even though it just aired once, that sketch really connected with some people...

[ahisma]

I wish that Podcast Set sketch had aired! Not sure what I would have swapped it for, but it’s top tier.

[TakomaSnark]

8 hours ago, LADreamr said:

And yet, no Stefon.  And this really seemed like his kind of crowd.  It would have been fun to see him randomly show up in this sketch, if only just to hear the audience lose their minds.

Barry's third season premieres at the end of April, so I expect to see Bill hosting sometime that month.

[heatherchandler]

7 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Are we sure that was Malcolm?  I thought he looked a little big for 3 months but I'm not a parent so I don't know.

 

That’s Malcolm.  
 

6 hours ago, sheetmoss said:

People keep saying there was a monologue, in the Chicago airing, the show opening went from the choir to the dog food commercial.

I’m near Chicago and I saw the monologue.

[LADreamr]

8 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Are we sure that was Malcolm?  I thought he looked a little big for 3 months but I'm not a parent so I don't know.

9 hours ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:

Yes.  They post photos of him all the time on Instagram.

[MrWhyt]

I would've liked to see Will Forte pop up to complain that a writer was getting to the five timers club ahead of him, but otherwise probably one of the best of the year.

[Galileo908]

2 hours ago, ahisma said:

I wish that Podcast Set sketch had aired! Not sure what I would have swapped it for, but it’s top tier.

Adding the Ukrainian choir possibly moved the Five Timers sketch, which meant something had to get bumped.

6 minutes ago, MrWhyt said:

I would've liked to see Will Forte pop up to complain that a writer was getting to the five timers club ahead of him, but otherwise probably one of the best of the year.

Didn't he cover that in his monologue?

[MrWhyt]

2 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

Didn't he cover that in his monologue?

if you by "HE" you mean Will Forte, that was the joke I was trying to make. In his monologue Will Forte complained about all the people who hosted ahead of him included Mulaney, a lowly writer, hosting it 4 times before he did it once.

[SomeTameGazelle]

9 hours ago, Psychobunny said:

I also loved the Cha Cha Slide sketch but this was basically a copy that didn’t need to happen. I don’t think it added anything. 

In the original, John was Ego's boyfriend who had not yet met her mother, so it seemed reasonable for her not to know all about him. In this version they were married so I spent far too much time thinking about how odd it was she would still be surprised. The part where he had received a t-shirt in the mail and had no idea that she had not made no sense and took me right out of it. 

[Joimiaroxeu]

Fauci hooking up with Saweetie was funny to me.

Did Candice Bergen always have such a prominent chin? Meanwhile, I didn't realize Elliott Gould was still alive. 😉

Ditto comments upthread, maybe they should upgrade it to the Ten Timers Club. Most of those older Five Timers likely wouldn't make it.

Well AFAIC that WU was a waste of time. No guest commentators?

Oh, so they needed to shave time off WU to do that weird NYC musical. Meh.

I'm giving this one a thumbs sideways and am looking forward to hot piece Oscar Isaac next week.

[TakomaSnark]

14 minutes ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Did Candice Bergen always have such a prominent chin? Meanwhile, I didn't realize Elliott Gould was still alive. 😉

Ditto comments upthread, maybe they should upgrade it to the Ten Timers Club. Most of those older Five Timers likely wouldn't make it.

Well AFAIC that WU was a waste of time. No guest commentators?

Oh, so they needed to shave time off WU to do that weird NYC musical. Meh.

I'm giving this one a thumbs sideways and am looking forward to hot piece Oscar Isaac next week.

Candice has always had a striking jawline.

[kib]

...and Al Roker, havin' some fun like the old days before he became a serious weatherman.

[TakomaSnark]

2 minutes ago, kib said:

...and Al Roker, havin' some fun like the old days before he became a serious weatherman.

Which is funny, because the subway musical sketch started with the premise of it being unusual to want to eat a subway churro? Immediately took me back to Al's appearance on Seinfeld, where he stole Jerry's subway gyro.

 

[meep.meep]

10 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

 

Seriously cannot believe Conan came for the Five-Timers sketch. NBC seriously railed him with the late night deal, and I wouldn't blame him for having a grudge even now.

He may not have ended up with the job, but he got a lot of money out of NBC.  Crying all the way to the bank money.  He's OK.

[possibilities]

I love the dog food sketches. Also really love the cut podcast sketch. I would have cut the slide sketch to fit the podcast one in; I thought the t'shirt not going to Ego made it veer into obnoxious territory.

[Melina22]

I laughed louder and longer at the Covid sketch than I have in ages. It was ridiculous and perfect. 

[Aileen]

11 hours ago, JeanJean said:

I can't remember the details (if anyone but them really knows the details) but I remember reading something like she was just blindsided by the breakup and his new relationship. Maybe everything just happened very fast. So I felt sad for her.

I felt bad for her until I read a feature about her in a recent magazine and she seemed exhausting and extremely affected.

Liked this episode and thought the musical sketch was a lot better than the last one which makes sense since JM wasn’t sober for the last show.

 

9 hours ago, sheetmoss said:

People keep saying there was a monologue, in the Chicago airing, the show opening went from the choir to the dog food commercial.

I’m in Chicago. There was definitely a long monologue.

[ottoDbusdriver]

LCD Soundsystem reminded me a lot of Arcade Fire.

[cpcathy]

1 hour ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

LCD Soundsystem reminded me a lot of Arcade Fire.

So many band members! Why???
I thought this was a great show, hit all the right notes. I have to say, someone could write their college thesis on the paradoxical experience of John and Anna. The internet really went nuts over how awful they thought John was for the baby situation. He’s still a human and as long as someone acknowledges they are human and makes mistakes, I can get past it. 
I do hope Malcom Mulaney and Cosmo Jost create a sitcom in 2050.

[bettername2come]

I think my favorite joke was “Hey, Elliott, do you remember being on my sitcom?” “Should I?”

I have to say this is my least favorite John Mulaney episode, but it wasn’t bad. The choir was beautiful and a great decision. Especially loved that they had Kate and Cecily introduce them; they’re my favorites and they’re capable of that solemnity the moment required. Arvin story was great - I’d love for that to be a true story. Blue River dog food was hilarious and no that math did not check out. I desperately need to know if that pug could walk. I love when Cecily and John play a couple. They have good chemistry. The guest stars were great esp Paul Rudd. Monkey Judge felt like it could’ve been an All That sketch minus that final joke. Kenan not being in the Nickelodeon sketch felt wrong.
 

Would a New Yorker explain the B & H thing to me?

[sheetmoss]

10 hours ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:

I don't know if it'll stay up long

Thank you for the link

My bad...maybe too much wine, there indeed was a  monologue upon replaying  - I think I must have been fastforwarding  the credits and missed it.

[After7Only]

2 hours ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

In the original, John was Ego's boyfriend who had not yet met her mother, so it seemed reasonable for her not to know all about him. In this version they were married so I spent far too much time thinking about how odd it was she would still be surprised. The part where he had received a t-shirt in the mail and had no idea that she had not made no sense and took me right out of it. 

I think the joke of both sketches is how familiar Johns character was with obscure Black American cultural references given him being a suburban looking white male.   For example Chris Redd’s joke about putting Robitussin on his knee is a reference to an old Chris Rock joke.   

[Ms Blue Jay]

11 hours ago, sheetmoss said:

People keep saying there was a monologue, in the Chicago airing, the show opening went from the choir to the dog food commercial.

 

If SNL posts the deleted podcast episode on Twitter, someone let me know.  Canadians cannot see those Youtube clips.

Edited February 27, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[ebk57]

38 minutes ago, bettername2come said:

Would a New Yorker explain the B & H thing to me?

B&H is owned by Hasidic Jews and employs a lot of them, so the Fiddler chorus/dancers being B&H employees on their lunch break was the joke. 

[SomeTameGazelle]

21 minutes ago, After7Only said:

I think the joke of both sketches is how familiar Johns character was with obscure Black American cultural references given him being a suburban looking white male.   For example Chris Redd’s joke about putting Robitussin on his knee is a reference to an old Chris Rock joke.   

I understand what the joke is supposed to be, and they did an excellent job setting it up in the original. Ego and John were clearly in a somewhat early stage of their relationship; they make us think his nervousness is because he is unfamiliar with black culture, but keep revealing he is thoroughly steeped in it (even attended Howard University) and knows a lot of the wedding guests quite well.

In this version now they're married,  but for some reason she still knows nothing about him and when he receives a t-shirt in the mail for her family reunion apparently they had no discussion about it and never speculated about what had become of hers. Maybe the individual black culture references could have been funny, but the choices they made for the framework dragged them down. 

[Mediocre Gatsby]

58 minutes ago, sheetmoss said:

maybe too much wine

YOU TAKE THAT BACK!

[theredhead77]

14 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

That B&H Photo joke was very NY specific. ...

 

14 hours ago, Trini said:

Yeah, I cracked up at the B&H line, but then I wondered how many people outside NYC would get that.

I learned about B&H when I lived in CA, from friends who live in CA.  But like Mulaney, I suspect they mean a lot to a small group of people [outside of NYC].

[xaxat]

I like the Mulaney "Questionable Foods" series because back when I was younger and living in Manhattan, I was that guy. A couple lot of drinks, it's two in the morning and cheap bodega/street food seems like a good idea.

I never had the lobster though.

[Ms Blue Jay]

14 hours ago, Slade347 said:

When was the last time WU involved just the two anchors?

 

[heatherchandler]

4 hours ago, cpcathy said:

So many band members! Why???
I thought this was a great show, hit all the right notes. I have to say, someone could write their college thesis on the paradoxical experience of John and Anna. The internet really went nuts over how awful they thought John was for the baby situation. He’s still a human and as long as someone acknowledges they are human and makes mistakes, I can get past it. 
I do hope Malcom Mulaney and Cosmo Jost create a sitcom in 2050.

Cosmo??  Like Cosmo Kramer?  Oh lord.

[MaryHedwig]

18 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

I wonder if that was supposed to be the cold open. 

That makes sense because Conan was all ready with that line: "Live from,,,,,: