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S50.E01: Jean Smart / Jelly Roll

Galileo908

By Galileo908
in Saturday Night Live

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Galileo908

Galileo908

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And we're back! Can't wait to see what Punkie, Molly, and Troast have in store for us this year!

Cold Open: Yes, David Muir IS handsome. And The Queen is here! By which I mean Maya Rudolph. And holy crap, they actually got Jim Gaiffigan playing Tim Walz! Fun fact: they placed Luca's parents in Luca. And Andy Samberg as Doug Emhoff is also perfect casting. Yeah, it's all stuntcasting, but they're great choices. I'll admit, the biggest laugh I got from this sketch was the reveal of Bowen playing JD Vance, with Trump taking his bulletproof glass with him. That and Maya saying "I have a gun. A cool one." And now J'Biden is played by...DANA CARVEY?! Not on the Bingo card, but man was he the best Biden so far.

Just now, ebk57 said:

The makeup was the best yet.  The characterization... not so much. 

If HW Bush was still alive, you'd have Carvey's Biden. 

Monologue: "Lesbians are obsessed with me." We open with Jean Smart singing. As much as I complain about song monologues, they've been less common the past few years. I wish there was more, but since the cold open was over ten minutes long, something had to give.

$100,000 Pyramid: And here's the requisite sketch covering the Hawk Tuah Lady. And the Chimp Crazy Lady. And Kenan as Mark Robinson. And the Turkish Shooter Guy from the Olympics The Chimp being a puppet was great. We needed more of that.

Spirit Halloween: Yeah. they nailed those places exactly. They are the hermit crabs of retail. But man, those jokes were so old a Spirit Halloween opened in that space.

Textbook Writer: Jean Smart just makes "sexy math problems" sound so easy. She and Kenan definitely carried this sketch.

Jelly Roll: someone on reddit called him Most Malone and now I can't unsee that. Song was great, though.

WU: Honestly there's barely anything SNL could do better that real life hadn't already done. I mean...they just roll actual footage of Trump's rambling, or just copy and paste them into cold opens.

"When democrats want to take out a presidential candidate, the get the job DONE."

Man, Che just does not GAF and this is better for it. And Devon is playing Eric Adams and while I liked it, I wish Chris Redd was still around. I could only imagine his reaction when he read about the indictments, knowing he wouldn't be here.

And I KNEW Bowen was gonna be playing Moo Deng! All the water spraying at him cracked me up. It says a lot when THAT has been the best thing so far.

I Love Lucy: Jean Smart was smoking, this was already fantastic. Lucy played a dramatic stage actress? God, I loved this. And comedy gold: have someone randomly draw a gun.

Talk Talk: Somehow I knew it was gonna be Bowen playing Charli XCX. This was fun, even if I didn't know who most of these people are. Liked Ego as Jasmine Crockett.

Real Housewives of San Jose: We FINALLY get Sassy Jean Smart, and they save it for the 5-to-1, and she has to yell over the loud fajitas?! Come on. I liked that you could see the fog machine on the fajita plates. Thanks, Dismukes. This was a real silly sketch, but since it was the last sketch, it couldn't breathe.

So...welcome to season 50! Was Jean Smart sick? She was in most of the live sketches, but barely had anything to do in them.

Next week is Nate Bargatze, and I'm betting we get another George Washington sketch. That's all anyone remembers from his first episode.

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Dirge

Dirge

I liked a few things, but overall I was disappointed. Andy Samberg was on Seth's show this week and they kept this a secret! I was surprised. 

Maya being on as a guest always makes me think that SNL dresses her far more flatteringly than she does herself. 

I wondered if WU would comment on Trump's weird purple hair in today's rally, since they were showing a picture anyway. Bowen as the baby hippo was my favorite part, especially since it included Colin getting hit with the hose water (shades of Cecily's Judge Jeanine's appearances). 

I'd love to see another George Washington piece from Nate next week! 

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ebk57

ebk57

6 minutes ago, JeanJean said:

I don't usually notice wardrobe, but Jean's monologue white silk and pink suit and her green outfit introducing Jelly Roll #2  were stunning.

I also loved her dress during the good-nights.  Fabulous!

 

I thought the show was pretty good.  I think I laughed more than I have recently.  Bowen was on fire tonight in everything he did.  WU was great.  I loved the song/jokes in the monologue.  It wasn't perfect, but much better than the end of last season. 

Great to see everyone here again. Hope you all had a nice summer!

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vb68

vb68

(edited)
43 minutes ago, ebk57 said:

I'm kinda tired of old, out-of-it, hair-sniffing Joe. 

They never did hit on a good Biden impression as president. I don't even remember how many different takes they tried. That said, it was great to see Dana back.

24 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

And Devon is playing Eric Adams and while I liked it, I wish Chris Redd was still around. I could only imagine his reaction when he read about the indictments, knowing he wouldn't be here.

My thoughts exactly! Chris Redd's impression was so onpoint that I didn't envy Devon. His take was just okay. I just wanted to hear Chris nail the Mayor's speaking voice again.

Weird to feel sightly underwhelmed with a Jean Smart episode. I agree they didn't give her enough to do. I'm slightly surprised there wasn't a Designing Women sketch. Oh to hear Julia Sugarbaker spout off right about now.

Edited by vb68
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txhorns79

txhorns79

(edited)
15 minutes ago, MrWhyt said:

pretty solid episode, nothing stood out for good or bad.

Is it really a solid episode when nothing stands out as good or bad?

For the opener on what is a big anniversary season for the show, I thought it was kind of meh.  The cold open went on too long, and while Jean Smart seemed game, it felt like they did not know what to do with her.

And what was that joke about Chinese-made drivers during Update?  I'd like to think we were past lame jokes relying on stereotypes about Asians being bad drivers.

Edited by txhorns79
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xls

xls

(edited)
5 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

And we're back! Can't wait to see what Punkie, Molly, and Troast have in store for us this year!

I thought I read Punkie and Molly left?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2024/08/02/saturday-night-live-punkie-johnson-molly-kearney-depart/74652970007/ via @usatoday

Edited by xls
tried to post link
baldryanr

baldryanr

We're back, and you know what that means, right? Cranky SNL fans complaining about political cold openings with what they consider lousy (or just outsourced) impersonations.  JAJ probably deserves a gold star for not being replaced by a special guest for the remaining sprint to election day.  I assume they were outright trolling Vance by having a gay Asian man portray him - if Molly were still around then they might have gotten the job.

Jean Smart is great (I remember her memorable turn on 24) but she didn't get the chance to do anything that stood out.  

This was cut for time:

 

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Pete Martell

Pete Martell

I still watch the show for little moments I enjoy, or because I have such a long history with it, but so much of what SNL is trying to be at present (when it even tries) feels alien to me. 50 years and yet their season premiere had so little interest in trying to show a forward path, instead relying on heavy alum cameos (and Jim Gaffigan, who is fine but whose role could have been played by almost any man in the cast), some overused cast like Bowen doing greatest hits, and so much vacuous pop culture chasing, often months and months out of date. The Charli XCX sketch in particular is everything I don't care about seeing on SNL.

The sketches were poorly put together, dooming some of the premises I did want to enjoy (like the dirty book sketch and the I Love Lucy sketch). Even the sketch I liked most (the fajitas and Housewives sketch at the end) didn't exactly work. 

Admittedly, it's hard to have a positive expectation for most SNL season premieres. Compared to some, there was a certain energy, which was nice. I also liked the wistful air of the monologue, instead of the usual joke machines. It reminded me of the early seasons of the show.

I watched the Saturday Night Network aftershow and they gave some info.

- Jean Smart was sick this week (as you can tell from her coughing during the show).

- Ego had a cut appearance on Update, as Janet Jackson. After she talks about Kamala Harris, she gives her own goodnights speech. Credits roll, including Lorne's name, and many mentions of George Soros.

- Chloe's part in the Charli sketch was much bigger in dress rehearsal. 

- Sarah had a sketch where she played Nancy Grace (who wants to see this in 2024 I don't know - so much of this episode seemed to want to be back in the Amy Poehler years). 

This was cut. I enjoyed this more than anything in the show, especially the ending, which cracked me up:

 

1 hour ago, DanaK said:

Who was the woman with Jean Smart when she introduced Jelly Roll’s first performance?

Hannah Einbinder, her co-star on Hacks. Hannah is also Laraine Newman's daughter. With so many alum cameos you'd think they could have had Laraine tag along.

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Ottis

Ottis

(edited)

This was the classic "Yep, that's what they sound like" SNL show, but were they funny? From the cold open to Lucy to Charlie XCX, yep, all the impressions seemed like the people they were impersonating. But did those people say or do anything funny? Nope, not really. A few mild chuckles.

And while I like and respect Smart as an actor, her whole energy is kind of negative and down. Like a bitter Edith Bunker. When Smart was on screen, it bummed me out.

Overall, the show seemed technically accurate, but not very fun ... with the exception of spraying the water on Moo Deng.

And from what I can tell, the actual Hawk Tuah lady seems perfectly nice and I hope she DOES make a lot of money off her bit. 

Edited by Ottis
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Slade347

Slade347

And it's Season 50. The cold opening was fine, but lasted way too long. I do think they did a good job with the casting of the various political figures. I actually do think there's a good chance that Molly would have played Vance if they were still around. Bowen is a good choice, though, and bonus points for using a current cast member.

As for the rest of the episode, WU, as is often the case, was my favorite part. I don't think I'll ever get tired of Che trolling the crowd. My favorite sketches were I Love Lucy and the math textbook. I liked the two cut for time sketches better than any of the sketches that were on the main show other than the two I mentioned above. I might have enjoyed the chimp lady more if I had any clue as to who that was.

Jean Smart was good, but I agree that for the most part, they didn't give her much to do. I enjoyed both Jelly Roll songs, which is pretty rare for me with a musical guest these days.

Hope we get a George Washington sketch next week.

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DXD526

DXD526

The Lucy sketch killed me. What an idea: instead of a loony, madcap Lucy, a hard-drinking, tortured Lucy! Just the sight of her sprawled out hammered on the couch holding a glass, while Ricky was his usual peppy self, was hilarious! Jean Smart did a great job. And feeling under the weather, no less!

Kenan as 'Mark Robinson' giving all the wrong answers in Pyramid was also a highlight!  

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peeayebee

peeayebee

(edited)
12 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

Spirit Halloween: Yeah. they nailed those places exactly. They are the hermit crabs of retail.

HA! That's a great line! (and better than most of the writing on this ep)

Overall, I was pretty disappointed. 

Jim Gaffigan as Tim Walz was perfect. I also thought Dana Carvey is the best Joe Biden they've had yet, well, aside from Jason Sudeikis. I wasn't crazy about him getting into Kamala's hair, but I laughed at his "And guess what! And by the way."

I love Bowen, but I didn't particularly like his version of JD Vance. For one thing, I don't hear such a Southern accent from Vance.

The monologue/singing was fine.

Did not like the game show sketch. The Hawk Tuah girl? The woman from that chimp docushow? Why? 

For once, my favorite part of the show was probably WU. Loved the joke about Americans going to Mars to get an abortion. I also giggled at Zuckerberg saying a Minion "Banana" because of those ridiculous AI glasses, or whatever they are. And Hitler's speeches being translated into English -- "They're eating the dogs. They're eating the cats." -- was perfect.

Bowen's Moo Deng was very cute. I was kinda mesmerized by the costume.

Other than that, bleech. I didn't like the Scholastic Books sketch, the I Love Lucy sketch, the charlie xcx sketch, or the Real Housewives sketch, which had a touch of Lisa-from-Temecula when she un-ordered the fajitas.

So, not a good show.

I hope Nate's next week is good. As much as I loved the perfect George Washington sketch, I hope they don't redo that but come up with something equally great.

Edited by peeayebee
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Baltimore Betty

Baltimore Betty

2 hours ago, Slade347 said:

Jean Smart was good, but I agree that for the most part, they didn't give her much to do. I enjoyed both Jelly Roll songs, which is pretty rare for me with a musical guest these days.

That was my exact take away too, I really wanted more Jean.  I still cannot name a single song by Jelly Roll but liked what I heard.

The Real Housewives skit made me giggle because not only am I a huge HW fan but they sort of had that actual fight on almost every Real House of _________. 

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Brn2bwild

Brn2bwild

(edited)

I thought it stank.  Nothing made me laugh except for the commercial for the six-week Halloween store, and even that felt like it could have been funnier.  The Joe Biden jokes were tasteless and mean.  A lot of the Weekend Update jokes fell flat.  The actors were generally well-cast for their roles (especially Maya, whose Harris vocal impersonation is uncanny), but the political sketch comedy writing has not been sharp since 2008 when Tina Fey played Sarah Palin.

Edited by Brn2bwild
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possibilities

possibilities

I was impressed by Maya's improved Kamala. I hated that they brought her back for this, as I hated her previous impression. But the writing and the impression have both improved a lot, and I was happy about it.

Overall, I thought this show was funnier than most of what they did last season. I even wondered if they had new writers. 

All this goes to show: you can't please everyone. It seems from the general tone here that most people in this forum don't share my tastes, but I guess we don't know what next week will be like, either.

 

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Galileo908

Galileo908

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(edited)
10 hours ago, xls said:

I thought I read Punkie and Molly left?

It's called "a joke."

34 minutes ago, possibilities said:

All this goes to show: you can't please everyone. It seems from the general tone here that most people in this forum don't share my tastes, but I guess we don't know what next week will be like, either.

As I said in the Reddit thread for this ep, nobody hates SNL more than the people who watch it every week and comment on it in real time.

9 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

- Sarah had a sketch where she played Nancy Grace (who wants to see this in 2024 I don't know - so much of this episode seemed to want to be back in the Amy Poehler years). 

I would've loved to have seen that, but you're right. It's a sketch that exists in the Amy Poehler era, and she nailed that impression.

Edited by Galileo908
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Joimiaroxeu

Joimiaroxeu

(edited)

Cold Open:
The role Maya was born to play, though she seemed kind of over the anticipation.
Huh, I thought Gaffigan had turned the role down. Guess not.
Okay, Doug trying to do the Dougie, and then tryna go all gangsta wit it his speech was silly enough.
Bowen Yang as JD!!!!
Dana Carvey had the walk down. Ditto comments upthread, he had more than a bit of Bush 41 in the other mannerisms though.

Jean Smart is a lot taller than I remembered.

I love Marcello's Bad Bunny. He goes all in.

Blonde Singing Woman. That could be referring to any number of people right now.

I keep confusing Jelly Roll with Chris Stapleton with Teddy Swims.

WU:
COVID jokes. Still too soon, Che.
Devon as Eric Adams? Nope. And does Adams wear earrings or was that part of the bit?
I hate that I laughed at the AI Hitler joke.
I hope Bowen didn't have to play Moo Deng because he's Asian.

The brat thing was played out months ago. Ego as Jasmine Crockett was fine but also dated at this point. Maybe SNL should've cut that skit for time.

It was okay for a regular season opener but maybe not for the 50th season. I would've expected a bigger name to host.

Edited by Joimiaroxeu
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proserpina65

proserpina65

On 9/29/2024 at 1:01 AM, Galileo908 said:

Next week is Nate Bargatze, and I'm betting we get another George Washington sketch. That's all anyone remembers from his first episode.

I also remember the cooking competition sketch.

Overall it was a good, not great show.  I wish there had been fewer guests (most of whom I didn't even recognize) and more of Jean Smart.  And I really wish they hadn't cut the Blonde Dragon People sketch - I watched it at work today and had to explain why I was laughing out loud at my desk.

On 9/29/2024 at 1:09 AM, MrWhyt said:

Jellyroll was better than I expected, but I did not expect much.

I've heard a couple of his songs and liked them.  Would rather not look at him while he's singing them, though.  Those face tattoos squick me out.  If you're not Maori (or from a similar culture) don't get them.

On 9/29/2024 at 8:02 AM, Ottis said:

the actual Hawk Tuah lady seems perfectly nice

She's not.

On 9/29/2024 at 1:45 PM, peeayebee said:

Did not like the game show sketch. The Hawk Tuah girl? The woman from that chimp docushow? Why? 

I took it as parodying what passes for "celebrities" these days.

On 9/29/2024 at 1:45 PM, peeayebee said:

I didn't like the Scholastic Books sketch

I loved that one.  Maybe if the math books had been like that when I was in school, I'd be better at math.  I thought Kenan's fascination with Clarissa was very funny.

19 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Blonde Singing Woman. That could be referring to any number of people right now.

It's the multi-purpose costume.

19 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

I keep confusing Jelly Roll with Chris Stapleton with Teddy Swims.

I confuse him with Post Malone, because of the tattoos, not the music.

19 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

I hope Bowen didn't have to play Moo Deng because he's Asian.

Bowen has carved out something of a niche for weird animal/inanimate objects on WU ever since his stint as the spotted lantern fly.

3 hours ago, baldryanr said:

aylor Swift can't be everywhere at once....

But Blonde Singing Woman can be.

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Carey

Carey

17 hours ago, Not4Me said:
23 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

It was okay for a regular season opener but maybe not for the 50th season. I would've expected a bigger name to host.

She just won her 6th Emmy Award in a pretty illustrious career. Can’t get any bigger than that.

Shame the writing didn’t give her much to work with.

Jean Smart as the host over a "big name" is not a big deal.  Personally I thought it was a pretty good choice.  Similar to the 500th show, I imagine they didn't want someone epic to overshadow a landmark episode or a milestone.  FWIW, there have been a ton of people that have helped make Saturday Night Live what it is.  It would have been tough to pick one person out of a ton.  They're not going to trend toward having a near half-dozen people host, similar to the Season 9 finale

Therefore, their choice was OK for me.  Yeah there are mixed reviews, but overall a pretty decent start to the season.  It's a season-long celebration; there will be positives & negatives throughout the year, but I think things were decent here.  IMO, having Dana & Maya on is something

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ItCouldBeWorse

ItCouldBeWorse

2 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

I suppose next you’re going to try to tell me that high school textbooks aren’t the size of best sellers, and don’t have removable paper covers. Why do you hate Clarissa???

I guess I'm weird, but details that are easy to get right and aren't part of the bigger fiction annoy me in otherwise ridiculous or completely fantastical situations.  I'll accept that HS math scores went up even when the textbook problems had no math content at all, but mentioning AP Algebra made it seem like none of the writers attended HS. (Unless the actor misspoke.)

 

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