S40.E05: Chris Rock / Prince

[formerlyfreedom]

Chris Rock hosts; Prince performs.

 

 

[topanga]

Two of my favorite performers. I can't let my expectations get too high for this episode. That only leads to disappointment.

[cpcathy]

SNL tweeted there will be an extended Prince medley.

[nowandlater]

Holy shit! SNL promos that aren't a boring 5-minute slog...just brief and amusing -- and on location!!!!

 

Edited October 29, 2014 by nowandlater

[Princess Sparkle]

Those promos almost seem (and I think might be the case) that Chris Rock just went outside with Bobby and improv'd the whole thing.  Just from how they're reacting to each other, especially in the last segment - it seemed like Bobby had to take a beat to remember more Prince songs, and the "When they think Bobby Moynihan and Chris Rock, they think erotic city" seemed off the cuff.  I like it.

[vb68]

I wish those were longer.  I could easily watch those two riff for awhile.  I wonder why they were so short.

[teebax]

I am ridiculously excited for this episode. I haven't felt this excited about an SNL episode since when Betty White hosted in 2010. Chris Rock has always been one of my favorite comedians, and Prince is just freaking Prince - a phenomenal musician and performer. I think Prince should have permanent Super Bowl performer status, as his was my favorite of all-time. 

 

Whew! Can't wait. 

[Toaster Strudel]

Prince is still alive?

[Primetimer]

And given his New Girl guest shot, why isn't Prince doing double duty?!

Read the story

[EAG46]

As much as I like Chris Rock and Prince --- and I agree that Prince's Super Bowl performance was incredible --- it's hard for me to build up any enthusiasm for this episode. I'm DVRing it and will use the Fast Forward button with extreme prejudice.

[nowandlater]

Didn't realize Chris was so short -- or that Jay was so tall.

 

[helenamonster]

SNL's Instagram account has been posting a lot of BTS photos from rehearsal today, including pictures of actual sketches being rehearsed. They usually don't do that and I find it kind of odd. Is this a sweeps week? Are they trying to drum up viewers/ratings?

[vb68]

 

Is this a sweeps week? Are they trying to drum up viewers/ratings?

 

Yeah, I think so.  And the promos keep really stressing Prince too.  (A bit more than they usually do with the musical guest IMO).

[Galileo908]

Cold Open: Going after Chris Christie and Ebola. No one came out looking good in that situation. Rather "eh," until Christie showed up in that house in Maine.

 

Monologue: And now for someone who can deliver a monologue without breaking into song. Chris Rock did not disappoint at all, as was expected.

 

How 2 Dance with Janelle: "You're embarrassing me in front of Just My Friend!" Chris Rock is old and being exposed to Youtube culture, like comments. And twerking. Also the first time I've ever heard "Fap" on this show. I don't think this sketch wouldn't have worked as well if the dad was anyone other than Chris Rock. Then again, I think the biggest laughs I got were from Chris Rock screwing with the filters.

 

GoProbe: They finally take GoPros down a notch. "Grandpa's Colonoscopy" was the best part. You know this is gonna be a thing soon.

 

How's He Doing?: I feel like we've seen this one before. I liked this one, but it sounds like the audience wasn't feeling it that much. Must've been too uncomfortable.

 

WU: Loved Michael Che talking about the Pope. "He doesn't look like the dice in that game Trouble." He flubbed a few times, though which was kinda jarring. I also liked Pete Davidson's latest monologue. And again I have ti point out Jay's eerily dead-on Katt Williams impression.

 

Shark Tank: ISIS on Shark Tank? No wonder this was put on after Update. I do like how none of the panelists were impressed with them. "Genocidal regimes are a very risky business. I've been burned before." Once again, lots of uncomfortable silence from the audience.

 

Swiftamine: Realizing you like Taylor Swift is the leading cause of vertigo. I love that. Why wasn't this one on earlier?!

 

Uber: Chris Rock and Leslie Jones having an argument...again, uncomfortable. Apparently the cue card guy screwed up, causing that weird pause in the sketch.

 

Bank Robbery: This was funny.

 

Women in The Workplace: This was a weird funny one. It was meant to be a terrible 1990's workplace video, but it came off as "we don't care how we act, it's 12:55 and we're tired." And hey, there's Vanessa Bayer in this episode! Kate was totally the MVP of this episode, she just sold this sketch so much.

 

Well, the taped stuff was great, not so much on the live stuff. This one really had an "Early 90's SNL" feel to it, like when Chris Rock was on. November 15th brings back Woody Harrelson, that SHOULD be a good one.

[opus]

I might've been too white to get some of that.

[helenamonster]

Cold Open: It was blah until Kate showed up. Seriously, she makes everything better. This is science.

 

Monologue: I mean, it's Chris Rock, of course it's going to be hilarious. I hope he gave Michael Che some notes on "how to do controversial comedy and not come off like a massive tool."

 

How 2 Dance With Janelle: The thing with the filters was cool, and Kyle was funny with his little, ahem, issue, but otherwise blah.

 

GoProbe: "Not your grandfather's colonoscopy" was awesome.

 

How's He Doing?: They've done this one a few times now and, I mean, nothing really changes about it.

 

Weekend Update: Well, I'm physically unable to find Michael funny anymore and Colin is still dull as dishwater. Pete's bit was ok, but I'm already getting tired of them bringing him out every other week to do his standup. I do love Jay's Katt William's impression, though.

 

Shark Tank: I absolutely loved this because THEY TOOK A RISK. People are gonna be mad about this tomorrow morning and it's great. It pushed boundaries without being completely tasteless, and just framing the whole thing with the Shark Tank premise was really smart. Four for you, whoever wrote this.

 

Swiftamine: Once they started talking about Spotify and iTunes I knew the joke was gonna be Taylor Swift, but it was still really good and accurate.

 

Anniversary: Just a mess. Even without the cue card snafu, I didn't hear very many jokes and never figured out where it was trying to go.

 

Good Neighbor: Hit!

 

Women In The Workplace: I just love Kate and Cecily in this sketch. When Cecily said, "Come into work in a wheelchair and say you're a lesbian" or whatever I just completely lost it, I was not expecting that.

 

I was wondering which Mockingjay: Part One cast member would do the promo this time. Is it too much to ask that we get Elizabeth Banks for Part Two?

[vb68]

I liked  a lot of it, but the general execution and pacing seemed really off tonight, from the missing cue card for Leslie Jones, and Micheal Che bombing a joke so bad that he just gave up on it. Guess maybe there was other stuff on his mind.  I also noticed that the audience was stone  cold quiet for most of it tonight. It has to be really bad for me to notice it, and that was strange because I generally think Chris Rock's delivery just makes everything better.  As does Kate.  I thought that was the best cold open of the season so far just due to her.

 

Prince was fantastic.  Love those guitar skills.  Wish we got one classic hit.

 

Shark Tank: I absolutely loved this because THEY TOOK A RISK

 

It did seem almost daring.  Maybe too daring for the studio audience.

Edited November 2, 2014 by vb68

[Mabdul Doobakus]

I think people will be more upset about that monologue than the Shark Tank skit.  ISIS is terrible, but not too many people here have been affected by them on a personal level.  The monologue got off to a very shaky start and from that point on it rarely got more than awkward polite laughter.  I think it set the tone for the whole show.  I don't think that audience was ready for Boston Marathon and 9/11 jokes.  I can imagine that monologue was very upsetting for a lot of people, and I don't think it's just a case of people being too PC.  Those were pretty traumatizing events.

 

I'm all for the show taking risks (and I didn't mind the Shark Tank skit at all, apart from not finding it funny).  I tend to like some of the weirder sketches.  I just don't think this was the right venue from that kind of material.  

[opus]

I think people will be more upset about that monologue than the Shark Tank skit. ISIS is terrible, but not too many people here have been affected by them on a personal level. The monologue got off to a very shaky start and from that point on it rarely got more than awkward polite laughter. I think it set the tone for the whole show. I don't think that audience was ready for Boston Marathon and 9/11 jokes. I can imagine that monologue was very upsetting for a lot of people, and I don't think it's just a case of people being too PC. Those were pretty traumatizing events.

I'm all for the show taking risks (and I didn't mind the Shark Tank skit at all, apart from not finding it funny). I tend to like some of the weirder sketches. I just don't think this was the right venue from that kind of material.

Googling "Chris Rock monologue", it's already begun. Edited November 2, 2014 by GaryE

[Mabdul Doobakus]

Googling "Chris Rock monologue", it's already begun.

No doubt.  And just to add...I wouldn't be surprised if this material does well at his standup shows, but he has to understand there's a difference between the crowds that are coming to see him (and who are primed for a Chris Rock show) versus the crowd that goes to see SNL, not to mention the folks watching it on TV.  It's a broader audience.

[Tirten Tirten]

That Good Neighbor pre-tape was absolutely perfect, one of the lone bright spots (besides the T-Swift ad) in the episode. And man, scruffy Bobby really did it for me. And I loved, loved, loved Beck pinning that poodle (it was a poodle, right?) pin onto Kate's jacket. That was hilarious. A+++ for Good Neighbor basically saving the episode for me.

 

There were a lot of sharp jokes in that ISIS/Shark Tank sketch, but I think the idea of the mere sight of the guys in ISIS uniforms and brandishing weapons was just too much to process. I mean, when you think of ISIS, you think of beheadings. That's not going to inspire a ton of laughs, no matter how smart the writing may be. But I did laugh at the new logo. I wonder how Geico felt about that. Yikes.

 

I like dark humor, so I thought all of Chris Rock's Freedom Tower jokes were pretty spot on (I've always thought the same thing, but I can totally understand the audience being uncomfortable/outraged. I actually thought his entire monologue was funny, especially the joke at the end about needing a gun to protect himself from all the gun nuts.

 

I felt pretty bad for Leslie. I think that was her first major sketch and I'm guessing the cue card guy wasn't ready, and it just threw the entire sketch off. Even Bobby's appearance as the Uber guy was weird, like they just threw him in at the last second. 

 

This was a terrible episode to watch, especially after the 10 pm "Vintage" episode. Personally, I think there's something off about this entire cast—they just don't "mesh" for me. There is a severe lack of chemisty between almost everyone, except for the Good Neighbor guys and the Aidy/Kate/Cecily trio. I almost forgot Vanessa existed until she showed up in the Taylor Swift ad. I have a terrible feeling this entire season is going to be a trainwreck.

[JakeyJokes]

I loved the hell out of the Chris Rock/Leslie Jones sketch. It was interesting that the Uber was just an aside, since I thought that would be the whole premise (Uber usually arrives within 2-5 minutes and it's for people who are ready to go, so it was funny that Leslie's character wasn't even out of her bathrobe yet).

 

I get that Prince is Prince, but it was disappointing that he didn't even show up for the good-byes.

 

The 12:55 sketch was so weird and so funny. I loved Cicely and Kate using weird voices. "We're a biracial couple." "And I'm not into that."

[Jonathan Seagull]

Honestly, I'm not sure that I really dug the Boston part of the monologue, either. I mean, to be fair it's a solid punchline -- running that whole marathon and then getting to the end and being told to run -- but it still seems maybe a little fresh. Also, Chris Rock is great, but I just don't really like it when comedians just come out and launch into their standup.  They can (and do) do that anywhere. I want the monologue to feel like something that was actually written for the show.

 

Even though How's He Doing is always the same thing (like probably most sketches), my biggest laugh of the night probably came from "Shut up, bitch!"

 

The gaffes were pretty painful tonight. First Michael Che (though moving past it with "Prince, ladies and gentlemen" did amuse me) to the Leslie thing that was apparently a cue card issue. But that went on FOREVER and was awkward and so visible and you could just feel all the energy drain out of the studio.

[ruby24]

I agree about the lack of cast chemistry- it feels like they're broken off into factions of certain people who like each other rather than a cohesive whole.

[pythonite]

To me it was the highpoint of that sketch when Leslie walked out and came right back chastising herself. Got to love live TV. (I thought it was her error and not a cue card guy.)

 

I have seen the How's Obama Doing thing before as well. (Kerry Washington?) Don't know why it's back though.

 

Love Pete. I think of this current cast, he's the next big star (Give him 3-5 years though). 

 

Once again had trouble understanding Che's punchlines.

[ruby24]

Michael Che has not proved very impressive to me at the Update desk, I really don't know why they wanted him there. Colin Jost is no good either, but it seems to me that with him they wanted a low rent Seth Meyers for some reason.

 

I think they should give Beck Bennett a shot at Update- his dry delivery on the AT&T commercials made me think he could be good there. Certainly better than he is anywhere else, anyway. I mean he wouldn't imitate Seth Meyers, if that's what they want- he'd probably be very different, but that can only be a good thing at this point.

[Toaster Strudel]

Che mumbles and stumbles.  Let him write, keep him off camera.

[Dev F]

To me the main reason why Rock's monologue started out so cringey wasn't because it made light of the Boston Marathon bombings from just a year ago but because it made light of the possibility that someone would bomb the New York Marathon today. And then weirdly treated that hypothetical occurrence as if it were somehow a foregone conclusion: "New York will bounce back." From what, the hypothetical terrorist attack you just made up?

 

And it's different from the jokes about the Freedom Tower, since that's playing on a fairly typical fear that's instantly relatable, but I'd imagine that for many people, the immediate response to "Hey, what if there's a terrorist attack at the New York Marathon tomorrow" was "Oh, crap, I wasn't worried about that until you mentioned it!"

 

Also, I've started to wonder if SNL recently lost some important behind-the-scenes figure or something. The show has always been hit-or-miss from a writing perspective, and it's always had cast members and/or hosts who crumbled under the pressures of live TV, but one thing that's allowed it to power through the rough spots was a rock-solid professionalism on the other side of the camera. Oh, there's occasionally been a flub here or there, but I can't think of a time when there have been such constant problems with missed sound cues, mishandled cue cards, and the like. It's getting really embarrassing.

[Mabdul Doobakus]

To me the main reason why Rock's monologue started out so cringey wasn't because it made light of the Boston Marathon bombings from just a year ago but because it made light of the possibility that someone would bomb the New York Marathon today. And then weirdly treated that hypothetical occurrence as if it were somehow a foregone conclusion: "New York will bounce back." From what, the hypothetical terrorist attack you just made up?

 

Agreed.  It was a terrible transition into his material.  

 

Why is this marathon scheduled for early November?  Just woke up to to coverage of the marathon on my TV and it's 40 degrees with 40 mph winds.  Fun.

[Lakewood27]

This was a disjointed mess. And the dead silence from the studio audience was painfully awkward.

The only moment that made me laugh out loud was the 'Swiftamine' commercial, because I had my own case of Swift-induced vertigo earlier this week. Fell asleep with the tv on, heard 'Style' just as I was waking up, and thought the song was amazing.

[Toaster Strudel]

The way Rock was carrying on about the Boston Marathon, I thought the punchline would not be that you get to the end of it to be told to "RUN!" but to have your feet blown off.  That's where I thought he was heading.  Even if he ultimately didn't say it, he made me think it.

I cringed a lot.

[Ms Blue Jay]

To me, this felt like an incredibly short episode.  I'm all pro-Prince and everything, but how long was his set?  I couldn't believe it when it was 1 am already.  There seemed to be so few sketches, and then several didn't even have Chris in them!  So not much "Chris" material.

 

Michael Che has consistently offended me on Twitter -- I think I've unfollowed him twice, because I keep forgetting -- But I do really really like him on Weekend Update.  He's my kind of anchor!

 

Taylor Swift and her production team are very smart.  I think, from what I read, her album "1989" is made of music intentionally trying to mimic music from that time, her year of birth.  Hard to resist.

Edited November 2, 2014 by Ms Blue Jay

[teebax]

I really liked this episode, as I knew I would. Chris Rock is one of my favorite comedians, and his monologue was perfect for me. I don't mind cringe-humor, and I had the same thought about the Freedom Tower.

I'm not feeling the Weekend Update guys. I actually miss Cecily on the desk. I know Jost is head writer, but he's terrible on the desk. Che is okay, but he can go, too. I wouldn't miss him.

[Katmai]

Prince looks great for 56! The third-eye sunglasses was so him.

[vb68]

 

That Good Neighbor pre-tape was absolutely perfect, one of the lone bright spots (besides the T-Swift ad) in the episode. And man, scruffy Bobby really did it for me. And I loved, loved, loved Beck pinning that poodle (it was a poodle, right?) pin onto Kate's jacket. That was hilarious. A+++ for Good Neighbor basically saving the episode for me.

 

Word on the street is that this was cut from both the Chris Pratt and Jim Carrey episodes.  That's why Chris Rock wasn't in it.

[Lakewood27]

Taylor Swift and her production team are very smart.  I think, from what I read, her album "1989" is made of music intentionally trying to mimic music from that time, her year of birth.  Hard to resist.

Ah, that explains so much. I have never liked Taylor Swift's music until now.

[cpcathy]

That Couple sketch was horrible, cue card/missed line or not. Thank goodness for the Good Neighbor film.

Fast forwarded through Prince, still miss The Revolution.

 

Woody Harrelson is hosting, yay! We NEED a True Detective sketch, please.

[Fostersmom]

Man, I found this episode to be a hot mess. Well, anything that wasn't pre taped. The pre taped stuff was awesome, but kind of negates the whole live point of the show.

 

The monologue was just not funny. Yay, terrorist attacks, the night before a major event in NY was just not funny. I didn't mind the Freedom Towers stuff, but the marathon bits were too much. The Hows He Doing sketch was the same exact sketch as before, apparently this will be trotted out any time there's a black host. Which is fine, but they've got to make it fresh. I did like the jokes about Sasha and Malia talking back though. A) those were hilarious and B) were different from the first sketch. The How to Dance sketch wasn't too bad. Wasn't awesome yet, but I could see it being a repeated sketch in the future. There's a bit to build on there. Update was so completely off after Che messed up his joke, save as good as it was, nothing was bringing it back. I'm not feeling Che or Jost together. It has bugged me every week that I can always hear Che laughing at Jost's jokes off camera. I seriously thought the anniversary sketch was supposed to be that messed up for the first half until Leslie started wandering around the stage like she was lost. I thought they were going for a really cheesy sitcom kind of thing up until then and then I realized they were completely in the weeds. I didn't mind the Bad Training Videos only because I've seen so many bad videos, not even from the 1990s, that it rang true. Cicely and Kate's voices, clothing, and the things they were doing with their hands just made the whole sketch. 

 

I'm not even sure what the hell was going on with Prince. Was he seriously singing about McDonalds at one point? WTF. 

[peeayebee]

Michael Che has consistently offended me on Twitter -- I think I've unfollowed him twice, because I keep forgetting ...

I'm curious how he offended you. (I don't follow him on Twitter.)

 

As for the show, it was a mixed bag. I didn't like the Cold Open, primarily for the same reason as last week's Cold Open -- It's playing into the misinformation and panic about Ebola. And while I didn't like how they portrayed the nurse as actually being sick, I did love Kate. She was hilarious.

 

Chris's monologue was clearly uncomfortable for the audience at first. I was unsure as well. It did seem weird to joke about the marathons, although I liked the joke about getting to the end of a marathon and being told "RUN!" But my favorite part was when he talked about the Jesus Birthday Season. Loved the joke about some expert saying, "We had a horrible Jesus Birthday Season. Hopefully things will pick up by his crucifixion." I also loved the bit with reading the threats on his website and suddenly thinking, "Oh my God. I need a gun!"

 

How to Dance With Janelle was ok. It's odd that one of the funniest parts was Chris playing around with the computer and getting the weird images. I also liked Kyle. I appreciated that the underarm sweat wasn't commented on. I've rarely liked Jay in sketches, but I thought he was good here. Very funny when he tells Chris that sweeping the driveway isn't even a real chore, but even funnier was when he came back and explained what fap meant.

 

The Go Probe commercial was great. The best part was the old timey commercial. I also really liked when Beck was looking at his colonoscopy:

 

Beck: Moguls!

Kenan the doctor: Those are polyps, sir.

Beck, happily: Sick!

Kenan (slight pause): Yes.

 

I like How's He Doing. My favorite part here was Kenan mentioning the new Sirius radio show Shakin' My Head on the Mmm-Mmm station.

 

WU was ok. I still like Michael Che even though he fumbled his lines a couple of times. And I don't have a problem with Jost. I liked the bit about the nurse where he says, "Kaci took an hour-long bike ride with her boyfriend. Said her boyfriend, 'Help! She's gaining on me!'" I don't know much about Katt Williams, so Jay's impression does nothing for me. It may be accurate, but it's not funny.

 

It was funny how the audience gasped when ISIS was introduced on Shark Tank. I thought the skit was bold and interesting, but then they seemed to chicken out by having Homeland Security come in and capture them. I loved Kate's impression of whatever that woman's name is. To quote helenamonster, "Seriously, she makes everything better. This is science."

 

The vertigo/Swiftamine commercial was great. I liked the little touch of Beck's name being Dr. David Doctor. The graphic of the brain fighting your ears when a Taylor Swift song is heard was really funny. Oh, and the end with Leslie in a tutu was wonderful.

 

I liked the idea of the married couple sketch, but it was poorly executed. I think it was supposed to be more of a character study than a joke-fest. Chris is a bad actor, so that makes it harder to make this work. Leslie is a good actor, but she messed up (or the cue card guy did, or whatever). Anyway, a noble but failed experiment.

 

Loved the bank robbery. So weird and hilarious. Aidy screaming at everything was great. The Civil War lesson that Kyle and Bobby do was great, too.

 

Another winner was the Women in the Workplace video. Kate was hilarious. I also liked the diversity bits betw Chris and Vanessa. Loved Chris's line, "These files have to be filed all the way."

 

I liked Prince's performance with all the different styles of music. I don't know his stuff aside from the really popular songs, so I don't know if these are from his new album or from previous ones. 

 

It was good to see Kate used so much. She was perfect whatever she did and raised the level of the skits.

[mtlchick]

I would have killed to have Nat X reoccur.  Instead we got...I don't know what.  This was pretty brutal overall.  Hell if I can laugh slightly more during Michael Phelps' episode than Chris Rock, that is a major problem.

[Racj82]

At this my point in my life I find myself shrugging at most thing people find over the line or inappropriate. It's comedy. It's not always supposed to be safe. So, everything tonight left me thinking there will be a lot of complaining about stuff on here but I barely raise an eyebrow. Not telling others how to feel. I just feel like this country is too sensitive.

[yourstruly]

 

I just feel like this country is too sensitive.

Thank you for saying that. I completely agree. I think it's gotten worse in the last few years. But I come from a family that was making Challenger disaster jokes within a week and I don't see the big deal.

 

I loved the "How's he doing?" sketch. Because it's accurate. I did laugh out loud when they all laughed about voting for Romney.

Edited November 2, 2014 by yourstruly

[vb68]

 

 

Michael Che has consistently offended me on Twitter -- I think I've unfollowed him twice, because I keep forgetting ...

 

 

 

I'm curious how he offended you. (I don't follow him on Twitter.)

 

Take a look at the cast discussion thread.

[stonehaven]

I found most of Chris Rock's monologue enganging..if not very funny...He wasn't really making jokes about "hosting SNL" or some lame attempt at some movie plugs of old..He was doing stand up...

As far as his jokes goes, yes, there were some that would be considered over the line but it also depends on your audience. I once made a joke about how overwrought Minneapolis was after their bridge disaster(a month after it happened) and got glares in return. Some cities have sensitivity to that stuff..So I can see Rock getting a cold reaction..

 

For me, the show seemed way too corporate for my taste...The Taylor Swift thing was funny but it really was a suck up sketch to her. Where is the show that loved to take down the establishment?

 

It's not there anymore...Rock came close and I wonder if the "How's He Doing?" sketch would have had more teeth to it, if the writers or even Rock had the balls to be edgy on Obama..they weren't..they played it safe.

 

 

I also have a problem with Rock being this great, edgy stand up but his movies are pure tripe..funny for the masses to make a buck but no real depth to them...Head of State is a great example..no real satire there although there should have been plus (as had already been stated) Rock cannot act his way out of a paper bag..

 

The gun control joke got me thinking he was going into his epic "bullet control" spiel but he went in another direction.

 

As for Prince, I wished there was more funk in his set but the guitars were pretty great...and I WANT those shades....

 

Overall, I think I am done with SNL for awhile..Watching the "Vintage" makes me realize how far this show has fallen...and I never thought I'd say a show from 6 years ago was hilarious but it was better than this...

..and yeah Micheal Che can just get off my TV screen now...Bring back Cecily and put Kate at the WU desk...

Edited November 2, 2014 by stonehaven

[KerleyQ]

I have to wonder if Chris did a monologue that some might find uncomfortable/inappropriate or too dark precisely because of the Michael Che controversy.  Hell, I think the ISIS/Shark Tank bit might have been part of that, too.  

[Tooch]

Beck: Moguls!

Kenan the doctor: Those are polyps, sir.

Beck, happily: Sick!

Kenan (slight pause): Yes.

 

I legitimately lol'd at that part--one of the few laughs I got all night. This was absolutely a painful episode, and I also noticed the tomb-like silence from the studio audience. What was that all about? Shit, I have seen some baaaad episodes of SNL before, but the studio will usually throw out some chuckles. They were silent, which only highlighted the issues.

 

I think the biggest problem might have been Rock. Count me among those who enjoyed his standup/monologue, even if some of the jokes tried to hard to be 'edgy'. But the fact is he is just a terrible actor and kind of sinks any sketch he's in. It's not a surprise that the funniest bits of the night were the pre-taped ones where he was not featured, and the cold open (I know it got mixed reviews, but I loved it, I kind of want Christie to get the nomination just so we can get two years of Bobby playing him, I think he's perfect).

 

ETA: I kind of hate that this episode was so painful, because I totally support that SNL has tried to up its game in the diversity department, and an episode with an abudance of sketches putting the black cast members front and center failing so badly just gives fuel to all the jerks who were against the idea of adding more people of color to the cast "just becuase".

Edited November 2, 2014 by Tooch

[Bees]

Cold Open: They need a better monologue writer. Though this one wasn't half bad. Bobby and Kate are always lovely. 

 

Monologue: I think this monologue is the reason why the Shark Tank sketch aired. They were like "Hey, the monologue is gonna be considered bad taste to begin with. How about we just put this sketch on as well...not as if they're gonna be even more pissed off than they are" I mean the marathon joke part was really stupid and went nowhere. The 9/11 being commercialized/Freedom Tower was interesting and he does have a point about 9/11 becoming commercialized soon. And the whole Jesus' birthday stuff is so true. Also, I'm surprised nobody has ever thought to do like a My Super Sweet 16 parody with God trying to throw this huge party for Jesus who really doesn't want it and God is acting all super douchenozzle about all the decorations and whatever. That would've been brilliant...though I don't think that show is on anymore so not sure if others would get it. 

 

How 2 Dance: Chris Rock's character would've totally ended up an internet meme. Man, I would've loved to have seen them make a continuation sketch about that at the end where his character finds out he's an internet meme. I liked Kyle as the first and Jay's appearance as the brother. Also "WHAT IS FAPPING?!" was funny. 

 

GoProbe: This sketch really has made me notice that a lot of folks who have GoPro cams tend to be in that 35-45 age bracket. At least of the ones I know. GoProbe is pretty smart and funny. Especially the exchange between Beck's snowboarder and Kenan's doctor. 

 

How's He Doing?: Can't really say I liked or disliked this one. It was okay. 

 

Weekend Update: Che has been under a lot of fire for what he's said in the past week about the street harassment video. I'm not as much of a hater of him but I do think he should at least note that saying "You look beautiful" to random women on the street DOES come across as creepy. Ditto with "Smile" which is something that is just stupid to say. Anyways, Update was alright. Pete Davidson was alright. The Katt Williams/Suge Knight bit was alright. Jay's impression was great (Though I think Drake had a just as great impression when he hosted..also, he should host again! I don't like his music but he was a damn good host). All in all, not bad.

 

Shark Tank: As controversial as it may seem, it also seemed kind of predictable at the same time. I liked Aidy's character with the breakfast pasta. I also liked how normally they all treated ISIS at the time. Beck's character being all "NO I DON'T LIKE THIS!" was great. But the ending made up a lot for me. Just hearing that someone had already called ahead of time was nice to see. I salute the balls on whoever wrote this sketch though. 

 

Swiftamine: Great. While I came to acceptance that Taylor Swift occasionally makes some good music a while back, I still found it funny because there's those who really like some stuff on that 1989 album. Though I must say I despise "Shake it Off" if only because that goddamn bridge part just ruins it for me. Also Dr. David Doctor giving the news about people having a bad case of loving Taylor Swift was lovely. The name made me chuckle. 

 

Anniversary: Was this funny? Not entirely. Did it have that weird brainfart at one point? Yes, but I actually kind of liked this sketch. I think a huge reason why is because I don't think it once relied on any sort of racial humor. It was just a couple getting ready to go out arguing over stuff and they just so happened to be black. I really appreciated that. And it reminded me a bit of some couples I know of. Not bad at all. 

 

Bank Holdup: I really loved this. Just the idea of bank robbers being all friendly with their hostages and accommodating all in the name of getting money was just awesome. Then the ending song was amusing too. 

 

90s Workplace: This made me laugh mostly because of the hosts and the intentionally bad line readings of the actors. And the weird segment interludes where Cecily and Kate would liek turn around or but their hands to their chins or something like that, was just great. 

 

All in all, could've been better but there was some pretty ballsy sketches here that I gotta salute. 

[Chit Chat]

 

Also, Chris Rock is great, but I just don't really like it when comedians just come out and launch into their standup.  They can (and do) do that anywhere. I want the monologue to feel like something that was actually written for the show

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up for me.  I wasn't offended by what he said, but I cringed thinking that it really wasn't appropriate.  I understand that some people can be humorous about certain tragic events, but I'm not one of them.  As far as the Freedom Tower, well, you sure wouldn't want him to be a spokesperson for the NYC travel bureau! I've been following the building of the Freedom Tower, and to me it represents a 'rising from the ashes' and 'we won't cower to terrorists' kind of attitude.  Everybody knows it's a target, but for him to drone on and on about how he wouldn't step one foot in it, well, it just seemed a little unnecessary.   Not one of SNL's better nights, IMO.

[Growsonwalls]

I think the issue is that I suspect the opening monologue is a snippet of a Chris Rock stand-up riff that probably starts a lot more tame and then goes into the edgier topics. But Chris Rock just did a cut/paste and started right in with the Boston Bombing and 9/11 jokes and so it was awkward. Chris Rock is like a lot of stand-up comedians hosting SNL: they don't seem to get that a stand-up show is different from a sketch show like SNL. A lot of his sketches seemed poorly rehearsed, and the reading of the cue cards was really obvious. The ISIS sketch might have been funnier had he been more consistent with the accent or didn't keep busting his lines. 

 

A lot of stand-up comedians' hosting attempts on SNL fall very flat because I think they're unwilling to work with the ensemble much for sketches. They come in with an "hey I'm already funny" attitude and just want to do their own jokes. 

[teebax]

"ETA: I kind of hate that this episode was so painful, because I totally support that SNL has tried to up its game in the diversity department, and an episode with an abudance of sketches putting the black cast members front and center failing so badly just gives fuel to all the jerks who were against the idea of adding more people of color to the cast "just becuase"."

Anyone that narrow-minded would have hated this episode regardless of whether or not it was actually good. I've lived through years of a cast that was begging for some diversity. SNL didn't just pull these performers in from the street. And before last night's episode lots of people were begging for Leslie to be added to the cast. I'm willing to chalk up her mistakes to nerves, but I'm probably more forgiving than most. I think the bigger problem is the update desk, but I fear we're stuck with Jost and Che, at least for this season.

I wish in the "How's he doing" sketch they'd have had courage to discuss why the Democeat party refuses to stand up for the president by highlighting the good things the administration has done. It's a continual frustration for me as a voter, but outside of MSNBC and Bill Maher, I rarely hear anyone talk about it on TV. They could have done that In a funny way instead of just furthering the offensive notion that black people just support him becuase of his race.