S50.E02: Nate Bargatze / Coldplay

[Galileo908]

This week's host is Nate Bargatze, with musical guest Coldplay 

Airs 10/5/24

 

[DanaK]

Maya Rudolph and Andy Samberg! And Jim Gaffigan

And Dana Carvey again!

Edited October 6 by DanaK

[AuntTora]

Who is Nate Bargatze and why is he talking? Because surely that is not intended to be “comedy”?

[Thalia]

Yes!  George Washington! 

[DanaK]

6 minutes ago, AuntTora said:

Who is Nate Bargatze and why is he talking? Because surely that is not intended to be “comedy”?

Hes a comedian and he was on before

[SomeTameGazelle]

36 minutes ago, Thalia said:

Yes!  George Washington! 

The part where they opened with how hilarious "dozen" is reminded me of what annoyed me about the first George Washington sketch -- the premise that somehow these strange things were "American" and not originally British. 

[Galileo908]

Cold Open: Of course we get the VP Debate, but we got some fun stuff with Maya and Andy commentating on it. I figured they'd focus on the weird bromance forming between JD Vance and Tin Walz. Dana Carvey's Biden was by far the best part. I would watch him eat ice cream for 90 minutes.

Monologue: This monologue didn't grab me. The material was fine, but he sounded drunk the whole time. He's most likely not, but the execution was definitely lacking.

Washington Crossing The Delaware: The one sketch everyone knew was gonna come back. This one was a fun one. They were right about Jeff/Geoff

Oakmont: Random animal violence. I guess I was desperate for laughs, this got me every time. Such great timing. I loved the "turtle" floating up, dead.

Sabado Gigante: I got vibes of the classic Japanese games show sketch with Farley, but this one was in Spanish. This was the right kind of random, the random little kid dressed as Nate was the best part.

Water Park: I liked the premise. What if someone died on top of a water slide? What do you do with the body? I knew where this was going. Loved the reveal that kids were watching the whole thing. "We just won't buy the picture" was line of the night so far.

WU: They were sitting on that pic of Jost edited into January 6th footage, I just know it. I got a laugh out of the lesbian bar jokes.

Hey, Jane got to do something! It was okay.

Mile High Burger: A fun premise: what if someone ordered a food challenge during a serious conversation? Heidi attempting to eat a giant burger. This is turning on SOMEBODY, I just know it. Where was Lisa From Temecula to cut up that burger when you need her?! Hell of a great performance by Heidi.

Digital Short: A NEW DIGITAL SHORT?! "Sushi Glory Hole" was the kind of stuff I missed from this show. Catchy as hell. A Lonely Island/PDD mashup needs to happen now that Digital Shorts aren't off the table.

Football: It's 12:57, time to perform this sketch at 2x speed! All about checks for the jerseys. Silly, but I'm shocked this sketch even made it in.

Well, this was pretty okay! Wasn't expecting a new Digital Short, so that was a pleasant surprise.

Edited October 6 by Galileo908

[MrWhyt]

better than last week. NB fits in good with the cast. Knew we would end up getting a new George Washington sketch, it wasn't as good as the first but at least they kept it short. Dead guy on waterslide was my favorite of the night. WU excellent as always. Seeing the digital short made me realize the Please Don't Destroy guys aren't in the credits, are they gone from the show? Coldplay = Meh

Edited October 6 by MrWhyt

[vb68]

This was a pretty fun show. I guess it helps when they have an idea on how to write for the host.

Good take on the debate sketch. I wondered what they were going to do with it. At least they didn't have to get weird with a fly this time. And props for not shoehorning Trump in.

I could tell they were rushing through Update. It will be interesting to hear if they cut anyone's bit for time.

10 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

Digital Short: A NEW DIGITAL SHORT?! "Sushi Glory Hole" was the kind of stuff I missed from this show. Catchy as hell. A Lonely Island/PDD mashup needs to happen now that Digital Shorts aren't off the table.

Honestly my first reaction was Oh wow, it's the "My dick in a Box" duo. Lol. It took me a few seconds to register that it wasn't Timberlake with Andy. 

10 minutes ago, MrWhyt said:

Seeing the digital short made me realize the Please Don't Destroy guys aren't in the credits, are they gone from the show? Coldplay = Meh

Yeah, I was wondering that, too. Where are they?

[Dirge]

Okay, two people have already mentioned Please Don't Destroy - please, I'm begging you, don't say it a third time or they'll appear! 

[JeanJean]

Dead Guy on a slide was fun. George Washington 2.0 was still fun.  The rest was meh.

Sorry to say it,  but Nate Bargatze's opening monologue felt like listening to an old person (like me) tell a dull story.

Weekend Update, always reliable!

[giovannif7]

😐😑

 

[Irlandesa]

2 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

Sabado Gigante: I got vibes of the classic Japanese games show sketch with Farley, but this one was in Spanish. This was the right kind of random, the random little kid dressed as Nate was the best part.

This is based on an actual show called Sabado Gigante.

2 hours ago, MrWhyt said:

Seeing the digital short made me realize the Please Don't Destroy guys aren't in the credits, are they gone from the show?

I don't think they've ever been listed as cast members.  They're writers who make on camera appearances.

[baldryanr]

Someone decided that Harris/Walz should be like how they portrayed Obama/Biden - the relatively serious and restrained presidential candidate cringing at a high energy goofball who says dumb stuff.

[EtheltoTillie]

UO here:  the water slide was the worst sketch. 
I laughed out loud at the golf sketch. The opening monologue was terrible. Fell flat with the audience. I think his monologue last year was much better. 

[EtheltoTillie]

New girl’s song on the news was not funny and went on way too long. 
 

 

[Ottis]

6 hours ago, JeanJean said:

Dead Guy on a slide was fun. George Washington 2.0 was still fun.  The rest was meh.

Sorry to say it,  but Nate Bargatze's opening monologue felt like listening to an old person (like me) tell a dull story.

Weekend Update, always reliable!

The host seemed nervous, or like he was struggling with lines. Last season he was spot on and his timing was amazing. This time, not so much. Wonder why.

The whole show was like that, really. The timing was a hair off.  The dead guy on the slide was a great idea, but was halting. The Mile High Challenge skit was the first bit to build momentum.

Enjoyed it overall, just cringed at the awkwardness. 

Add: The Please Don't Destry sketch went the "weird idea" route vs. the "hey yeah, that's true" path. I like the latter, better. 

 

[wonderwoman]

7 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

Hey, Jane got to do something! It was okay.

and it went on and on and on and on… thought it would never end!

[Pete Martell]

1 hour ago, EtheltoTillie said:

New girl’s song on the news was not funny and went on way too long. 

I think every desk piece in recent years goes on twice as long as it needs to. Having her go on for so long took what could have been quirky and just made it seem extremely awkward.

2 hours ago, baldryanr said:

Someone decided that Harris/Walz should be like how they portrayed Obama/Biden - the relatively serious and restrained presidential candidate cringing at a high energy goofball who says dumb stuff.

They try to have it both ways with Kamala and I don't think either attempt works. I was never a huge fan of this impression but now with Andy Samberg and Dana Carvey there it feels even more like a put-on, alumni laughing with each other through overdone one-liners and recapping. 

I just find all of this a tough watch. There's such a crassness, especially the way they portray Biden. And the choice to have all of this framing the VP debate is all but saying they don't care about writing for the debate, or for Walz and Vance. Then why even bother? Not because they have any interest but just for Youtube views.

Trying to make a cheap gay joke with Vance and Walz was lower than I expected of the show these days. 

Apparently JAJ was meant to appear in this as Trump but was cut. I like JAJ but I can't say I'm sorry.

1 hour ago, Ottis said:

The host seemed nervous, or like he was struggling with lines. Last season he was spot on and his timing was amazing. This time, not so much. Wonder why.

The whole show was like that, really. The timing was a hair off.  The dead guy on the slide was a great idea, but was halting. The Mile High Challenge skit was the first bit to build momentum.

Enjoyed it overall, just cringed at the awkwardness. 

 His career was going well before SNL but moved up another gear afterward (he even has a special coming up produced by Lorne). He seemed much less involved this time. And the show in general has that vibe for me now - struggling to write sketches, to get the performances right, to figure out what to say, to get the energy. The slide sketch felt like it was a first rehearsal, rather than a production for the live episode.

He seems to be a pleasant guy, and that pleasant vibe helped the sketches he was involved in, but it seems like a herculean effort for the show to make something genuinely good these days. 

I was never that big on Lonely Island, especially not after they started only doing music videos, but something about this felt especially crass and desperate to me. I did not like it at all.

Some of the people who were in the Saturday Night Network podcast chat last night mentioned that the episode was much better in dress rehearsal. I wonder how often that is the case, but it's unfortunate to look at the end result and wonder what might have been. The Mile High sketch is one I almost enjoyed, but the unprofessional breaking from Bowen and Mikey derailed it. It reminded me how much of the show now seems to center on sketches invented to make cast members laugh. That isn't what I watch the show for. In my opinion, breaking is special when it happens to a cast member who tries to keep composure, not someone who just has no control. This has happened repeatedly with Bowen, and I end up thinking that he's laughing more than I have at anything he's done on the show in years. And it just makes me think Mikey has been there much too long. 

From the podcast, here are some of the sketches that were in dress rehearsal:

SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY - Nate, Sarah, Ashley, Kenan, Mikey, Heidi, Chloe, Bowen. Nate hires Sarah, who dances with a human sized puppet in front of and behind her to the cha cha slide. Mikey is a divorced dad who flirts with the front puppet. The reveal at the end is that the puppets are real (played by Heidi and Ashley).

EMANUEL - Yankees VIP sketch. Kenan plays Emanuel, Chloe is Anna Wintour, JAJ is Liam Neeson. Kenan is letting them into the Yankees VIP suite joking that he didn't want to be in Nate's standup, Chloe's next Vogue issue, or JAJ's next movie.

DOLLHOUSE- Sarah as JAJ and Heidi's kid. Nate, Ego in it too as playwrights. Sarah and Nate play with Sarah's dolls but it is very intense dialogue with fighting (like Nate's doll jumps off the house). JAJ and Heidi keep going to the kitchen which allows Ego to join Sarah and Nate in playing.

One of the people who attended dress rehearsal said the sweet sixteen and dollhouse sketches were very good.

Edited October 6 by Pete Martell

[nickp1991]

I love Jim Gaffigan as Tim Walz

[Blakeston]

2 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

New girl’s song on the news was not funny and went on way too long. 
 

 

Agreed, and I thought her delivery in the water slide sketch was flat-out terrible.

[EtheltoTillie]

Agree with @Pete Martell, esp. that the debate was poorly written. 

I was wondering why Sarah was not seen in much, and it looks like she had two good sketches cut.

[driver18]

The less Sarah is the better.

[MrWhyt]

9 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I don't think they've ever been listed as cast members.  They're writers who make on camera appearances.

Last year the opening credits had "and a film by please don't destroy" with a shot of the guys (most episodes).

[Fostersmom]

13 minutes ago, MrWhyt said:

Last year the opening credits had "and a film by please don't destroy" with a shot of the guys (most episodes).

Only episodes where they had a sketch, so we only know they didn't write the sushi sketch. 

[EtheltoTillie]

More on new girl, oh okay, Jane Wickline:  Vulture linked to her TikToks, and they are not funny or if they have a germ of funny go too long. I guess I’m too old for the new humor. I was around as a college student for SNL 1. 

[possibilities]

Another week where I laughed at most of the sketches and thought it was a pretty good show.

[Thumper]

Who was the guy with Samberg in the sushi sketch?

I like the Do Not Destroy guys because they make the funniest facial expressions in their sketches!

 

 

Edited October 7 by Thumper

[peeayebee]

5 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

I was never that big on Lonely Island, especially not after they started only doing music videos, but something about this felt especially crass and desperate to me. I did not like it at all.

I didn't like it either. I should say that any jokes about glory holes ick me out. Add to that eating sushi in a bathroom, and you've got a gross, unfunny video.

As for the rest, I liked most of it. Jim Gaffigan is an inspired choice to play Walz. Loved the bit about him grading papers. Dana Carvey is excellent as Biden, though I do cringe at some of the addled jokes.

Re the monologue, I agree with others that Nate seemed a bit off, but I still enjoyed it. I love his sense of humor. "I didn't see raspberries growing up. I don't come from money."

I was actually hoping for something else than a reboot of the Washington sketch, but this was still good.

Mikey: Ah, so a dozen grades!
Washington: That's, no. We don't use it that way.

The golf sketch/video was good. 

Loved the Sabado Grande sketch. Loved the waterpark sketch. I knew the woman was one of the new cast members, but I didn't know her name until WU. Anyway, she was kind of a dud in this sketch.

Her performance in WU was not my cup of tea. Sounded like there were some good lines in the song, but I couldn't always understand them, and like others here said, it went on way too long.

Loved the Daniel Day Lewis joke -- coming out of retirement to star in Shrek 6.

I'm not a big fan of watching a person eat like a pig, but I was impressed with what a trooper Heidi was. Something that confused me was that she said a couple of times that she was going to be a quiet resource (or something like that), but once she got into eating that giant burger and drink she suddenly blurted out, "Put him in a home." Why would she suddenly become loud and rude?

There wasn't much to the football sketch, but it wasn't bad.

All in all I thought it was a good show, definitely better than last week. 

I need to see if Nate has any new standups streaming.

[Crashcourse]

Other than the George Washington sketch, I was not at all impressed with Nate Bargatze, and I thought his opening monologue was awful.  I thought he was drunk.

I love Jim Gaffigan as Tim Walz, but I'm tired of seeing "frail" Biden.

That new girl singing on Weekend Update was awful, and Colin Jost looked uncomfortable just watching her.

[Red Bridey]

Okay, haven't seen all the ep yet but legitimately cracked up during the Sabado Gigante sketch. So funny!

[Quickbeam]

I like Nate and follow his comedy. He definitely has a laconic lane and stays in it. I loved the Washington sketch, especially for Kenan. “A” war……..

For me there will never be a Biden as good as a Sudeikis Biden, and that includes Joe himself. Jason did a goofy uncle Joe playing fast and loose with reality that I adored. Dana just played a sad demented man and it felt a little mean.

New performer Jane’s bit wasn't as clever as she thought it was. 

[Galileo908]

14 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

This is based on an actual show called Sabado Gigante.

I'm quite aware of Sabado Gigante. I just never watched enough to realize that it was also kind of a game show? But it really did have the same vibes of the classic Japanese Game Show sketch, with the MC as a fish out of water American.

9 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY - Nate, Sarah, Ashley, Kenan, Mikey, Heidi, Chloe, Bowen. Nate hires Sarah, who dances with a human sized puppet in front of and behind her to the cha cha slide. Mikey is a divorced dad who flirts with the front puppet. The reveal at the end is that the puppets are real (played by Heidi and Ashley).

EMANUEL - Yankees VIP sketch. Kenan plays Emanuel, Chloe is Anna Wintour, JAJ is Liam Neeson. Kenan is letting them into the Yankees VIP suite joking that he didn't want to be in Nate's standup, Chloe's next Vogue issue, or JAJ's next movie.

DOLLHOUSE- Sarah as JAJ and Heidi's kid. Nate, Ego in it too as playwrights. Sarah and Nate play with Sarah's dolls but it is very intense dialogue with fighting (like Nate's doll jumps off the house). JAJ and Heidi keep going to the kitchen which allows Ego to join Sarah and Nate in playing.

One of the people who attended dress rehearsal said the sweet sixteen and dollhouse sketches were very good.

I can imagine we'll see Sixteenth Birthday and Dollhouse in the main show eventually. They don't seem too dependable on who the host is. I was wondering where Sarah and JAJ have been these past two weeks.

And the Dead Guy on a Slide sketch was based on something that actually happened to Michael Longfellow.

 

[Red Bridey]

I liked a lot of the show actually. I laughed out loud several times, which surprises me. Loved the golf sketch, the waterslide sketch and I did like the new girl's song during WU. Maybe it was a verse too long, but a party girl who doesn't know when the party is over also won't know when her song goes on too long.

I like Longfellow's dry delivery. Was not happy that Yang broke during the messy eating sketch. Keep it together, actors! And now BOTH Devon Whozit and Kenan say ALL their lines with grins on their faces, even when they are supposed to be mad, sad or bad. I'm not impressed with their range.

Also, who were the women singing with Coldplay? Even though I'm sure I won't know who they are even if you tell me their names.

Edited October 6 by Red Bridey

[cpcathy]

3 minutes ago, Red Bridey said:

Also, who were the women singing with Coldplay? Even though I'm sure I won't know who they are even if you tell me their names.

Elyanna (in the white), she is Palestinian, and Tini, who is Argentinian. 

[Thumper]

31 minutes ago, Quickbeam said:

I like Nate and follow his comedy. He definitely has a laconic lane and stays in it. I loved the Washington sketch, especially for Kenan. “A” war……..

For me there will never be a Biden as good as a Sudeikis Biden, and that includes Joe himself. Jason did a goofy uncle Joe playing fast and loose with reality that I adored. Dana just played a sad demented man and it felt a little mean.

New performer Jane’s bit wasn't as clever as she thought it was. 

Agree that Sudeikis’s Biden was great and my favorite.  Also that Biden as doddering and clueless is mean.  I don’t know if that’s Dana (who I like) or the writers. 

[MrWhyt]

6 hours ago, Fostersmom said:

Only episodes where they had a sketch, so we only know they didn't write the sushi sketch. 

yes but it seems strange that they don't have a sketch in the first 2 episodes of the season.

[Pete Martell]

2 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

I can imagine we'll see Sixteenth Birthday and Dollhouse in the main show eventually. They don't seem too dependable on who the host is. I was wondering where Sarah and JAJ have been these past two weeks.

And the Dead Guy on a Slide sketch was based on something that actually happened to Michael Longfellow.

Michael had tried to get that sketch on back early in his first season, when Megan thee Stallion hosted. Glad he finally did. 

I forgot to mention the Weekend Update cuts when I made my original post. Luckily a more detailed dress rehearsal report is out. Heidi had another of her "wacky" desk characters that have made me tire of her...which means it will probably be on this next episode.

 

15 minutes ago, MrWhyt said:

yes but it seems strange that they don't have a sketch in the first 2 episodes of the season.

They have co-written some of the sketches that have gotten on but only get in the credits when one of their shorts gets on. The show seemed to start losing interest in them around the middle of last season. Some fans think it is because their movie wasn't well-received.

[Pete Martell]

1 hour ago, Thumper said:

Agree that Sudeikis’s Biden was great and my favorite.  Also that Biden as doddering and clueless is mean.  I don’t know if that’s Dana (who I like) or the writers. 

The show's take on Biden has become coarser in recent years. I think the nastiest was probably Woody Harrelson's, but it didn't bother me as much because he was just a part of debate sketches and they gave him some sharp lines. Here, it just feels like an excuse for Dana to stretch out a lot of lazy gags. I think Dana has said he's not trying to be political, and so he is probably just trying to do easy jokes the way he used to do about Mickey Rooney, but the presentation feels very cheap because there's no depth beyond having some guy walk out to drool and stare at the camera. 

5 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I'm not a big fan of watching a person eat like a pig, but I was impressed with what a trooper Heidi was. Something that confused me was that she said a couple of times that she was going to be a quiet resource (or something like that), but once she got into eating that giant burger and drink she suddenly blurted out, "Put him in a home." Why would she suddenly become loud and rude?

I think the idea was meant to be she lost all of her sense of grace once she started pigging out. It might have been funnier if the timing hadn't been screwed up with all the breaking from Mikey and Bowen.

6 hours ago, Thumper said:

Who was the guy with Sandburg in the sushi sketch?

Akiva Schaffer, one of the Lonely Island trio (the third, Jorma Taccone, did not return).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akiva_Schaffer

[possibilities]

I liked the song on WU a lot. I thought it was funny and that going on too long was part of the joke-- they had to have the cops come to get her out of the house. 

Also, I appreciated that she wasn't doing the same voice and affect as most of the other female cast members do on WU. Something different is a relief at this point. 

Edited October 7 by possibilities

[Angeleyes]

I’ve seen Nate in person before and the story he told in his monologue is one that normally happens mid-set so it has other things leading up to it. I think the monologue time and his admitted nervousness didn’t give him a chance to get into the rhythm needed to land the jokes of this story. It was much funnier in person. I wish he would have had a chance to write something new just for this show. 
Also, I saw a clip where Nate spoke about accidentally reading Heidi’s lines the last time he did the show because he’s color blind  (I guess each actor’s lines are in a different color) Maybe this contributed to his nerves. 

[Tachi Rocinante]

If I didn't know that Nate Bargatze was actually a competent standup comedian, I would not have believed it based on that performance.   I've seen open mic newbies telling Dad jokes perform better. Everything was off, from the timing, to the delivery, to the lack of humor.

[heatherchandler]

15 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

EMANUEL - Yankees VIP sketch. Kenan plays Emanuel, Chloe is Anna Wintour, JAJ is Liam Neeson. Kenan is letting them into the Yankees VIP suite joking that he didn't want to be in Nate's standup, Chloe's next Vogue issue, or JAJ's next movie.

I don’t understand this description.. is there a place to see this?

 

9 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Dana Carvey is excellent as Biden, though I do cringe at some of the addled jokes.

He’s the perfect Biden, I think the addled jokes are spot on.

 

9 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

Other than the George Washington sketch, I was not at all impressed with Nate Bargatze, and I thought his opening monologue was awful.  I thought he was drunk.

He’s a seriously amazing, hilarious standup but during the monologue he sounded drunk to me too.

23 hours ago, MrWhyt said:

 Coldplay = Meh

Coldplay = terrible

 

 

6 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

Dana just played a sad demented man and it felt a little mean

SNL has always made fun of all presidents, GW Bush was a total fool.  Why *not* be truthful now?

 

[Thalia]

23 hours ago, JeanJean said:

Sorry to say it,  but Nate Bargatze's opening monologue felt like listening to an old person (like me) tell a dull story.

 

1 hour ago, Tachi Rocinante said:

If I didn't know that Nate Bargatze was actually a competent standup comedian, I would not have believed it based on that performance.   I've seen open mic newbies telling Dad jokes perform better. Everything was off, from the timing, to the delivery, to the lack of humor.

I have listened to Bargatze's monologue from last season three or four times.   I'd never heard of him before that and now I seek him out.   I was shocked at how flat last night's was.   It also seemed to end abruptly.  

I liked it better than last week's with Jean Smart, but whereas I thought last week's Bargatze episode was a 10, this one was more like a 7.  

Looking forward now to Mulaney in a few weeks. 

[Joimiaroxeu]

Cold Open:
Kamala and Doug sit around the house wearing suits. I could see that.
I still love Bowen playing JD, and Gaffigan as Walz.
Dana is having a blast as Biden. He kept making Maya break.

I don't know any more about Nate Bargatze than I did the last time he hosted. Last season. 🙄

George Washington speaks the facts: chickens are chicken. And I've never understood the "extra virgin" olive oil thing either. It makes as much sense to me as extra pregnant or extra dead.

As a big fan of Caddyshack, I actually gasped when the golf course gopher got staked by the flagstick.

Sábado Gigante used to be fun to watch even if you didn't speak Spanish. It was wild. I bet Marcello loves doing SNL skits in Spanish.

Joking about desecration of a corpse is a hard sell for me. I thought the waterslide sketch was awkward and went on too long.

Coldplay again? I don't hate them but Chris Martin comes across as such a try-hard to me. What has he got to prove at this point?

Weekend Update:
One Diddy joke too far, Che.
OMG, the mushroom joke. I didn't need that visual.
Jane Wickline looks like she could be Michael Longfellow's half-sister. Both tall and lanky.

The mile high burger challenge was disgusting. Heidi should get an award just for having that mess in her mouth and all over her face and hands. And getting all her scene partners to break.

Not a fan of the second Coldplay song. I'd be interested in hearing more from Tini and Elyanna though.

Sushi Glory Hole. This is my WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK? face.

Okay episode. Bargatze continues to be a serviceable host, even if only for the George Washington musings. Those are almost educational.

All I have to say about next week's show is I hope Ariana Grande doesn't do a duet with Stevie Nicks. Stevie is rock royalty and Ariana is not.

Edited October 7 by Joimiaroxeu

[Pete Martell]

8 hours ago, heatherchandler said:

I don’t understand this description.. is there a place to see this?

Sadly, no. This is a longer description from the Reddit dress rehearsal report above.

Kenan is checking tickets to the VIP section at Yankee Stadium. Nate comes along, playing himself, and is recognized by Kenan. Kenan tells him “you better not put me in one of your stand-up bits!” and basically goes on about how much he doesn’t want that while simultaneously making it obvious how he really does want that. His supervisor (Heidi) comes out and chastises Kenan and apologizes to Nate, who goes inside. Kenan scans some more people in until he gets to Anna Wintour (Chloe). He recognizes her and tells her how much he doesn’t want her to put in on the cover of a fashion magazine doing a fancy pose “wearing something like this” as he puts on what basically looks like a glittery upside-down chandelier. Heidi comes back out and chastises him again and lets Chloe go. Kenan starts to daydream about what he really doesn’t want to happen as a little dream bubble appears above him. In the dream bubble, Nate is doing stand-up and Kenan joins him and they talk about their bossy wives. The sketches cuts back to (a pre-recorded) Heidi and Kenan and ends.

[heatherchandler]

1 hour ago, Pete Martell said:

Sadly, no. This is a longer description from the Reddit dress rehearsal report above.

Kenan is checking tickets to the VIP section at Yankee Stadium. Nate comes along, playing himself, and is recognized by Kenan. Kenan tells him “you better not put me in one of your stand-up bits!” and basically goes on about how much he doesn’t want that while simultaneously making it obvious how he really does want that. His supervisor (Heidi) comes out and chastises Kenan and apologizes to Nate, who goes inside. Kenan scans some more people in until he gets to Anna Wintour (Chloe). He recognizes her and tells her how much he doesn’t want her to put in on the cover of a fashion magazine doing a fancy pose “wearing something like this” as he puts on what basically looks like a glittery upside-down chandelier. Heidi comes back out and chastises him again and lets Chloe go. Kenan starts to daydream about what he really doesn’t want to happen as a little dream bubble appears above him. In the dream bubble, Nate is doing stand-up and Kenan joins him and they talk about their bossy wives. The sketches cuts back to (a pre-recorded) Heidi and Kenan and ends.

Thank you!  That actually sounds really funny.

[baldryanr]

10 hours ago, heatherchandler said:

SNL has always made fun of all presidents, GW Bush was a total fool.  Why *not* be truthful now?

I think the question is the following - should Biden actually be in a sketch?  In Fall 2016 Obama never appeared.  While that was partially because Jay Pharoh had left, clearly hiring a sub is OK for Lorne.  Biden showing up in a sketch about defending his record or trying to be a shadow advisor would be relevant.  If he's going to pop up to be senile just for the sake of being senile then what's the point?  Or have him talk to Clinton, W, and Obama about what it's like to be a lame duck.  Bonus points for fighting with Obama because he likely blames him for his forced exit.

Edited October 7 by baldryanr

[Joimiaroxeu]

24 minutes ago, baldryanr said:

I think the question is the following - should Biden actually be in a sketch?  In Fall 2016 Obama never appeared. 

If I understand this correctly, lame duck presidents should not be depicted, or if they are it should be in a non-negative way? I haven't watched every season of SNL but has that generally been the show's practice? I feel like Obama was never really mocked by SNL anyway, unless you count imitations of his way of speaking, or Fred Armisen playing him at all.

[baldryanr]

1 hour ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

If I understand this correctly, lame duck presidents should not be depicted, or if they are it should be in a non-negative way? I haven't watched every season of SNL but has that generally been the show's practice? I feel like Obama was never really mocked by SNL anyway, unless you count imitations of his way of speaking, or Fred Armisen playing him at all.

The point is use somebody in a way that adds to what they're trying to do.  The main point of the cold open was to have Harris freak out at Walz's uneven performance with a secondary goal of mocking what Vance said.  Does having a doddering Joe Biden wander in help make that premise funnier?  If the answer is yes, then absolutely put him there.  If the answer is no, then find a better way to incorporate him or leave him out entirely.