S41.E21: Fred Armisen / Courtney Barnett

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

Fred Armisen hosts; musical guest Courtney Barnett

[Trick Question]

Uh, Fred Armisen hosting the season finale?  They couldn't have found a bigger name?

[helenamonster]

They probably chose him for a couple reasons. One is that he's on Late Night with Seth Meyers so already in the building (on the same floor, actually). Also, this makes writing the finale super easy for the writers. All they have to do is pull out old scripts of Fred's recurring sketches, do a little white-out and pen action, and blammo, they have a show.

[Jimmy McNulty]

Armisen?  This just confirms that he has pictures of Lorne with dead hookers.  I still can't believe he even got the gig, considering his audition was that awful Ay Dios Mio timbale player.

[vibeology]

Agreed. Way to lower the bar on this one. I get that they usually have alums on for the finale and bring back anyone who is interested for cameos but Armisen? I hate the idea of skipping the season finale, but I really dislike him.

[Princess Sparkle]

I mentioned this in the media thread when I saw he was hosting, but I wonder if this does mean it's Kenan's last episode (he's set to be a regular on Maya Rudolph's new show).  My thinking was that if it is indeed his last season, having a former cast member host is a way to bring back a lot of alums for cameos without completely shoving the host to the side.  However, Andy Samberg is literally in Manhattan right now doing promotion for his new movie, so I would've loved for him to host instead.  I bet we get a cameo from him.

Edited May 16, 2016 by Princess Sparkle

[vb68]

What are the odds they do The Californians?

[opus]

Potentially Jon Rudnitsky's last show? I don't think I can handle the emotion.

[fastiller]

This may be one of the rare episodes I don't FF through the musical guest! I frellin' love Courtney Barnett.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I don't know why people seem to hate Armisen so much here, and I've never understood it personally, but he's always been an all-time favourite castmember of mine.  I'm happy and excited to hear he's hosting.  Great of the show to have him do this finale in my opinion.

I wonder if he'll bring back Prince & Beyonce or something... that would require Maya... 

Edited May 17, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[Princess Sparkle]

I don't hate Fred per se, but I do think my least favorite sketches of his are all the ones that are recurring - things like The Voglechecks, The Californians, and Garth and Kath.  All of the things of his I like seem to be one-offs (minus Prince) - Nooni and Nuni, The Manuel Ortiz Show, and Ian Rubbish and The Bizzaros.  But I have to say, I would sit through an hour of The Californians if it meant I didn't need to suffer through The Voglechecks.

If this is indeed Kenan's last show (which I sincerely hope it isn't, but preparing for the worst since he is on Maya's new show), I hope we get a final "What Up with That?"  They haven't done one since the Martin Short Christmas episode, but that is one of my favorite recurring sketches of Kenan's, and I think you could get Jason back to do the dancing guy and Bill to be Lindsay Buckingham.  If not that, then I hope for a Scared Straight sketch.  I hope I'm wrong though; I know Kenan has been on the show for awhile, but I've been watching him do sketch comedy since I was six.  He just holds such a special place in my childhood, and I feel like in a weird way, I've grown up with him.  He still consistently makes me laugh, and I'm not quite ready to see him go.     

[Bruinsfan]

Armisen can crack me up with some of his celebrity impressions (Prince, Liberace, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in that I Ran so Far short) but if I see one of his weird hipster characters appear on Weekend Update I know it's time to change the channel for 15 minutes or so.

[LJonEarth]

I like Fred and don't care for the musical guest. Is Fred promoting something? His IMDB doesn't have anything major right now. It almost seems like someone cancelled. I swear I thought Drake was the season finale. That made more sense. 

[vb68]

I have no idea who Courtney Barnett is and couldn't pick her out of a lineup.  Get off my lawn.

[helenamonster]

11 hours ago, vb68 said:

I have no idea who Courtney Barnett is and couldn't pick her out of a lineup.  Get off my lawn.

I don't know who she is either, so maybe it's not a "get off my lawn" sort of issue.

[fastiller]

Courtney Barnett is an Australian singer who sings some very interesting songs.

Pedestrian At Best (sample lyric: "put me on a pedestal and I'll only disappoint you" (an odd video))

Avant Gardener (about an asthma attack)

Edited May 18, 2016 by fastiller

[SomeTameGazelle]

23 hours ago, Princess Sparkle said:

I don't hate Fred per se, but I do think my least favorite sketches of his are all the ones that are recurring - things like The Voglechecks, The Californians, and Garth and Kath.    

I like Fred well enough generally. The Californians amuses me in a very benign way. The pileup of accents/preening/driving directions/soap opera just works for me. The problem with Garth and Kath is that it's like an improv staple (two people trying to improvise the same dialogue at the same time) without an improv context and it never seems to lead to actual hilarity.

[Princess Sparkle]

43 minutes ago, helenamonster said:

I don't know who she is either, so maybe it's not a "get off my lawn" sort of issue.

I wonder if Fred suggested her; he sang with Blur at a concert where she was one of the openers, so maybe he's a fan and asked that she be the musical guest for him (perhaps he'll even join her for a song).  I actually thought something similar a few years ago when St. Vincent was the musical guest on the finale  - this was before she was a little more mainstream, and still a few months before she performed with Nirvana at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, and I don't even think she was dating Cara Delevigne yet.  I was convinced that Andy Samberg suggested her because he was a fan, and not because the SNL bookers decided on their own that she'd be a good musical guest.  

[ktwo]

I'm sure I'll remember a couple of other things that Fred did that I thought were funny, but right now I can't recall laughing at anything he did except for Governor David Patterson. Most of his stuff - Dios Mio, Garth & Kat, Nicholas Fehn - I found painfully unfunny. And his Barack Obama impression was bad.

[vb68]

Please no Roger Bush.  I hatred that character and never really saw the humor.  That was the misogynistic talk show producer who would insult people who dared to ask questions.  Ick.

[JZL]

Garth and Kat is one of the worst things ever on SNL.  Manuel Ortiz is almost as bad and it just goes on from there. 

He shouldn't host at all-- but the finale?   Huh, wha?

Edited May 19, 2016 by JZL

[LakeLover]

I like Fred just fine - I enjoyed The Californians because of their ridiculous accents, and his "Mayor Bloomberg," especially the Hurricane Sandy cold open, is one of my favorite SNL skits ever.

[cpcathy]

I really like Fred. I think he's enormously talented, so I'm looking forward to this show. I love The Californians and I can only hope Hader is somewhere in the vicinity. I used to laugh so hard at Governor Patterson that I was in tears.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I love Nicholas Fehn.  I think that character is hilarious.

[JZL]

I like the Californians, too, but mostly because of Hader.  Did Armisen have anything to do with creating that one?

1 minute ago, JZL said:

I like the Californians, too, but it was overdone.  I have to give Armisen his due for being one of its creators and writers. 

[Brattinella]

I sort of like Fred; that monologue though *YIKES*  SO unfunny.  Hope the rest is better!

I will die a happy woman if he does Gov Patterson, though!  That bit really put me on the floor.

Edited May 22, 2016 by Brattinella

[Brattinella]

Okay, half an hour in, and I'm done.  This is one of the worst SNL's I've ever seen.

[Galileo908]

I feel like I'm the only one who loved Ferecito. But I fully expect the return of the Californians and Garth & Kat (Ugh).

Cold Open: Hillary sketch! And Larry is back as Bernie! Okay, who suspected him to be the first cameo of the night? As a Bernie fan, this hit too close to home. "To math!" I enjoyed the dancing at the end.

Monologue: First recurring Fred bit: the terrible one-man show which goes on forever. At least this was actually a monologue, and a good way to get through all of Fred's impressions early (including Prince, sadly). We've actually had a few of these this season. And I felt like there were fewer singing monologues this season. 

Lewis Ampersand Clark: This show has an odd obession with terrible theater troupes. Must be in the blood. This was an odd one, but I'll admit that I didn't expect it to go there.

Digital Short: Yay. This kept getting better, especially the parts with Fred as Bin Laden.

Regine: Wasn't expecting the return of this character. Or Jason Sudeikis. I was unimpressed until everyone started to break. I prefer these kinds of characters staying in Portlandia.

Farewell Mr. Bunting: That was a hell of a slow burn, but what a payoff. Or maybe it was really funny since it was the first truly funny thing to happen in half an hour?

WU: Right, the NRA/Trump crap. They were on point, but the people that need to hear this won't see it. And Maya Rudolph is always a delight, as is Willie. I love this new tradition of telling all the mean/potentially offensive jokes at the last show and they were all miles better than any of the regular stuff. Shame on whoever keeps tossing them out.

Escape Pod: This was a meh sketch, but I enjoyed the twist. What was really weird was that Fred chose all the things I would've done if I was in his place (Korean chicken, vanilla milkshake, City Slickers II, pamper). 

Student Theater Showcase: Speaking of bad theater troupes, this sketch is back. Like I said, this must be in their blood, or Fred's at least. This is the THIRD sketch of this same theme tonight! I enjoyed Larry David's brief cameo. I'm with him, I would've left the first chance I got. I enjoy the audience commentary much more than the actual "play" (even though I enjoyed quite a bit of that, too).

Harkin Brothers: And now a sketch featuring everyone in the cast, even the music guest and the cameos. I'm a sucker for bits like this, so sue me.

I'd say that the writers checked out, but I felt that way last week, too. I'm with the rest of you, the bar got lowered quite hard. Update, the cold open were the only good parts. Musical guest was good, too.

See you all in the fall. It's been fun.

[Fostersmom]

Well, that was a shitshow. I laughed at the payoff in Farewell Mr. Bunting and a few times at some of the WU jokes, but the rest was just horrible. 

[Irlandesa]

Maybe I'm more easily pleased but I quite liked this episode.  When I heard Fred was hosting, that was the last thing I expected.

Cold Open:  I liked the dance and the twirl into the elevator.  The only thing I will miss about Bernie is Larry David as Bernie. 

Monologue:  Kind of weird.  Not funny.  But I thought it was kind of intriguing and different.  Plus, it made sense.  I'm just so used to Fred's weird made-up stories that I hate on Late Night With Seth Meyers that I appreciated something that felt real even if it wasn't.

Lewis & Clark:  This made me giggle because I didn't expect it to go where it did.  What I really liked, though, was Aidy's teacher character who just did not see the inappropriateness.

Digital Short:  It wasn't my favorite Andy Samberg joint but it did get better as it went on.

Regine:  Ah Jason was such a great cast member, wasn't he? What really worked for me was that everyone was breaking but especially Jason worked with the shoe in the guac bit. I don't think that was planned so Jason eating it anyway and eating it off of Regine's shoe was just great improv. (Assuming that it was.)  I would have had a hard time not laughing too.

Farewell Mr. Bunting:  I thought the joke was going to be the students reciting the words to an inappropriate song instead of reciting a poem.  What happened instead was perfect.  My fave of the night.

The student showcase skit and Weekend Update always holds some laughs for me but I generally lost interest after Bunting.

Edited May 22, 2016 by Irlandesa
Because weird things that make no sense come out of my keyboard after midnight.

[whatsatool]

Good cold opens musical guest and student theatre. Giggled more last week.

[vb68]

Well I enjoyed most of it.  The cold opening was really good, especially Hillary tricking Bernie into the elevator.  The monologue was actually a monologue, Andy and Lonely Island had a great short,  The Dead Poets short was awesome, the school theater sketch always works for me, and the sign off song with the cast is also a good farewell to the season. Jason and the cast were having a ball with Regine.  Jason even got Vanessa to break.

Neither Update character was my favorite.  We really went a whole year without Jebidiah?!  Taran doesn't seem to repeat his stuff that much.

Things got too rushed towards the end, but I really liked it.   

I'll miss the show this summer.  I hope Maya and Marty have a decent show. Also hope to see some of you in that thread! 

Oh yeah, super surprised there wasn't a Wiig sighting.  And no Hader in the house.

Edited May 22, 2016 by vb68

[Bees]

To quote one of my favorite episodes of Newsradio "Actually, that wasn't entirely unpleasant" I mean I was dreading this episode big time knowing that it was ripe for the ultimate cast reunion episode of all (since that Armisen-era seems to be the most shameless with their cast reunions episodes as I call them) and my distaste for Armisen's style of humor at least within a live show format. Thankfully, things were actually not bad.

Cold Open: To me, this is the best Cold Open of the season. Something about this just worked really well for me. However, I do need to point out that I am getting really tired of the whole "Cold Open = Political Sketch" thing. I mean why not mix it up with some non-political stuff? I mean one of my favorite Cold Opens was "I'm Not Gonna Phone It in Tonight" from a Steve Martin episode in the early 90s or so. And this kind of reminded me of that at the very end. I did like the whole beer joke thing. Does this count as everybody in the cast saying "Live from New York.." or so?

Monologue: Ugh...worst segment of the night bar none. This is the kind of Fred Armisen humor that I'm talking about that just drives me right up the wall. Things that drag on forever in a live show format just bother me. And people who just repeat the same thing a thousand times over thinking that just because they do that it means it'll suddenly be funny...it doesn't work like that. This was just boring and tedious to me. I'm sure in a non-live show format, this may work a bit better for me but this just did nothing.

Lewis and Clark: I found this pretty amusing all things considered. I would've liked to have seen some more audience reactionary stuff. Or maybe Pete Davidson saying something like "I can't move..." about being at his desk. Yeah, totally went an unclassy boner joke but it really called for it.

Digital Short: I was legitimately surprised that this happened. I mean it in a good way. I really liked this. Samberg's still got it. And I think everybody did a great job here in the sketch. Though a weird part of me wished to have seen Fred and Beck make out.  Is that odd? I dunno, I just feel like it would've really worked.

Regine: Uuuughhhhhh. Though I actually was okay with Vanessa breaking she's usually the one who keeps it together. And she didn't let it completely derail her. I found Sudeikis to be the real star of this sketch. Regine was just there for me. Not my favorite but it wasn't the worst thing ever.

Goodbye Mr. Bunting: Holy shit, this was amazing. The slow burn made it all worth it. It's like that sketch during the Brie Larson episode with the Quiz Show where it was revealed to be Ted Cruz' wife trying to guess who he was except amped up to 11. And just the sheer insanity of everything...man it was amazing. Probably my favorite sketch of the night. Whomever is writing these sketches that turn into these bizarrely hilarious twists (like the Quiz Show one, this one, the Pizza Rolls/X-Files mashup one) needs to keep writing them. I mean assuming they're all the same folks who do it.

Weekend Update: My parents came home from my brother's fiancee's graduation party in the middle of this so there's a lot I missed. Maya was just mehh...did like the gag about getting the Rue McClanahan. What really strikes me is just how far Che and Jost have come from last year. They're a really great team together especially when they rag on each other. I love that stuff. And the throwaway jokes were great. That Subway one I gotta applaud at least for not using the "Footlong" punchline that most people expected. And Willie was just...Willie. Kind of liked the memory of Ebbets field just for the sheer audacity. This was fairly good all things considered. Also legitimately surprised we didn't see Garth and Kat. Good thing.

Escape Pod: Boring. Just boring. Though the one thing this sketch made me notice was that Taran really wasn't in a lot of sketches tonight. Yeah when I'm more focused on that, there's a bit of a problem.

Student Theater Showcase: Loved Larry David being all "Screw this, I'm outta here!" after the first bit. I enjoy this sketch mostly because of the absolutely pretentious Tumblr crowd they're lambasting and how true to life it is with it. Once again, the best part of the sketch are the audience reactions for me. Just seeing Vanessa and Kenan go back and forth about how awful it is is great. I loved the line "You know what sucks? The afterparty is at my house...last year they stayed up till 6am complimenting each other" and then "She's my only daughter and she calls me the r-word all the time!" 

Harkin Brothers: This wasn't funny but it was nice. Just nice. I like these kind of sketches. Though it feels like it was going to be much longer but it was cut for time because of the stupid monologue and Regine lasting far too long. At least that's my theory. I still think that the "Goodnight Saigon" sketch of these type of sketches is my favorite.

Overall...not that bad. Far better than I expected. I'm confident enough to put this in my Top 10 of the year but not confident enough to put in my top 5. For the record my Top 3 are Larry David, Ariana Grande and Tracy Morgan. The Elizabeth Banks and Chris Hemsworth episodes were pretty good too. Anyways, this season was pretty good. I think there's maybe a bug or two more to work out, but I think they're in good shape for a watershed season should they not be idiots about hirings/firings. Here's to Maya & Marty not sucking. I have medium hopes for it (I loved the bit they did on SNL40 together and had been hoping for this to happen but still not too hopeful since variety shows seem to be laughingstocks)

[vb68]

Mike Ryan is already calling Mr. Bunting his favorite thing of the  past several years.

 

Quote

I enjoy this sketch mostly because of the absolutely pretentious Tumblr crowd they're lambasting and how true to life it is with it. Once again, the best part of the sketch are the audience reactions for me. 

I think that's why I always like it, too.  The shade thrown at the students is always a thing of beauty.  Loved it tonight when Vanessa said, "She's my only child!" after Aidy's pretentious speech about her brother/hero Zach.  

[VCRTracking]

Oh my god the payoff in that Dead Poets Society sketch was the BEST! That was the hardest I've laughed watching the show in years.

Edited May 22, 2016 by VCRTracking

[AdorkableSars]

Cold Open: I liked it. The dance with Hilary insisting on leading was good, and I love her spinning Bernie into the elevator. And the whole cast saying "Live from New York, it's Saturday was a nice touch.

Monologue: Did not really enjoy this. Some parts were funny but it dragged on a bit too long. Get to the show!!!

Lewis and Clark: This was OK. Probably my least fave of the night.

Digital Short: I loved this! Really, any time Andy Samberg is on my screen, I will be more than OK with it. And I'm so happy Vanessa got to play the sexy/freaky girl. Fantastic!

Regine: I  actually really loved this one. Jason Sudeikis  was hilarious, and Fred was hilarious as Regine, I thought. And I loved that Vanessa broke. That was actually one of the best parts for me.

Goodbye Mr. Bunting: I was thinking "where they heck are they going with this?" And then the fan chopped Pete's head off, and I absolutely lost it. This was so twisted and amazing and hilarious. I saw a tweet that said Colin Jost co-wrote this one. Props.

Weekend Update: Maya Rudolph is amazing, so I loved her bit. Lots of great jokes this week too. 

Escape Pod: This wasn't great, but I got a few chuckles out of it. 

Student Theater Showcase: This is one of my favorite recurring sketches (along with Baby Boss, so I've been spoiled these past couple of weeks), so I was happy with it. Vanessa and Kenan playing the snarky parents is always one of my favorite parts of these. And Taran's dancing/movements between scenes gets me everytime!

Harkin Brothers: I loved that the entire cast (including Jost and Che) were onstage for this, and Jason Sudeikis, Andy Samberg, Maya Rudolph, and Larry David as well. I thought it was cute, and a fun way to end the show. 

All in all, I liked the episode. I was meh on the musical guest. Had never heard of her or heard any of her music prior to hearing she'd be on the show, so I dodn't really have any expectations coming into this. I liked her first song far better than the second. 

[Fabricationary]

Add me to the minority that disliked the Goodbye Mr. Bunting sketch.  It seemed too Monty Python/cheap gag for me.

[Princess Sparkle]

I have never been so happy to be so wrong in my life - I thought this was a pretty solid show, and there wasn't a Vogelcheck OR Kristin Wiig in sight!

I could not figure out where they were going to go with the Mr. Bunting sketch, but holy shit, I haven't laughed so hard and been so surprised at a payoff in a long time. And Fred's nonchalant "I'm gonna take off; you guys have my email, right?" was the perfect capper. Kudos Colin Jost; that was a great sketch. 

WU ended on a solid note once again.  WU has been consistently great throughout the entire year, and Colin and Michael really deserve some credit for figuring out what wasn't working and changing. I damn near died at: "Well, last year I got a C". 

Regine, the high school theater, and the Digital Short were all great as well. I also give a lot of credit to Kyle for being the only one not to break during Regine (though, Beck held it together pretty well).  

Even though they're never really all that funny, I do always like the sketches where the cast all gets together and sings - that's why the "Walkin in a Winter Wonderland" sketch from the first season is a favorite of mine, so I loved that we got another one of those to end the night. In addition to Maya, Andy and Jason getting in there, I also spotted Carrie Brownstein to the right of Fred.  

Edited May 22, 2016 by Princess Sparkle

[Ottis]

Maya and Marty looks like a frighteningly unappealing show.

Andy, about two years too late on that short, buddy.

How many times will they milk the same Hillary and Bernie tropes?

i had to FF through the monologue.

A lot of build up in Mr Bunting to lead to the least interesting, most obvious twist. 

Maya was actually pretty good as the impeached Brazilian president. Colin seemed truly entertained. 

WU was pretty good overall. The "censored jokes" were great. 

Escape pod worked because it was short. An amusing idea and a twist then the end. You could catch a glimpse of the cue cards in the shuttle window.

The high school performance thing hits home because we often work with teens and twenties who all think these are original thoughts and that in the real world anyone had time to think about his stuff.

Why does the Harkin Brothers band have 100 members? Wait- it is the rest of the cast and some returning cast. Ah. Pretty self indulgent. 

Disappointing end to the season. Oh well. 

[jcin617]

I cannot recall the last SNL bit I laughed at as hard as I did at the end of "Mr. Bunting".   Holy cow that was awesome, it just caught me totally off-guard.

Edited May 22, 2016 by jcin617

[lulee]

16 minutes ago, Ottis said:

Andy, about two years too late on that short, buddy.

It looks like a promo for his new movie (not going to see it, can't be bothered to remember the title), and from the commercial I saw, I don't think his character in it is the sharpest tool in the shed.

Dozed off before the cold open (watched it this morning) and missed the monologue but saw most of the rest of it. Nothing really stood out and nothing was a huge clunker. "Lewis & Clark" seemed lazy to me with the oft-repeated gay sex twist. Always love Sudeikis and he does sort-of-an-a-hole characters well. The shoeguac moment was great. Che and Jost have really clicked for me and the banned jokes were funny. Always love Maya and Willie gets a chuckle too. It has been ages since we saw Jebidiah and he would have a fun look back at the year before summer. Hopefully Taran will bring him back next season.

So glad there were no Vogelcheks last night, and if one of you was the one who *explained* Nicholas Fehn to me over on TWoP, I always understood the character. I just never thought it was funny. Praise be that he wasn't on WU last night!

Lots of ups and downs this season. Very curious to see announcements of cast comings and goings. I'd be surprised if it was Kenan's final show given that they didn't do any farewell. Even if he declined a sendoff, I'd think there'd at least have been a sign held up by a castmate.

[VCRTracking]

Quote

Andy, about two years too late on that short, buddy.

Quote

It looks like a promo for his new movie (not going to see it, can't be bothered to remember the title), and from the commercial I saw, I don't think his character in it is the sharpest tool in the shed.

Pop Stars. I loved the trailers, especially casting Will Arnett as the TMZ guy and the part where the guy Andy plays has wolves for some reason at the place where he proposes to his girlfriend and they get lose and attack and kill the singer Seal. Just before, Andy and his fiancee are in the limo going like "Get in! Hurry!" and Seal is like "Don't worry. These wolves don't scare me. How do you think I got these scars?" pointing to his famous scars under his eyes. I love the way Andy says "From wolves?!"

Edited May 22, 2016 by VCRTracking

[absnow54]

I'm not a fan of Fred Armisen at all, but I love his friends. I'm sad that Bill Hader didn't show up, but I guess he doesn't have any summer movies/shows to promote (although I guess he's in the Angry Birds movie too.) I'm shocked that Kristen Wiig didn't show up, but not at all disappointed if it means we avoided a Garth and Kath bit. I usually hate when cast members purposely make the rest of the cast break (Jimmy and Horatio were the worst at this) but there's something about the way Jason Sudeikis does it that just really works. Like when he used to jump really intensely onto his desk in the scared straight bits, and in this case, when he ate the guac off the shoe and shouted "HEY!"

As I was watching the Dead Poets sketch, I was sort of haunted by Fred Armisen's monologue where there was this long extended build up with no payoff. Then I noticed how prominent the fans were being framed in a lot of the shots, and then BAM, the punchline. I don't think I've laughed that hard at a sketch in a long time.

[VCRTracking]

Before the payoff to the "Farewell Mr. Bunting" I was already amused by Beck reading from the poetry textbook about how "Poetry should not be fun." and "They were written by dead men a hundred years ago to punish children." I thought it was already making fun how not subtle the movie Dead Poets Society was in showing who to root for.

Edited May 22, 2016 by VCRTracking

[Peace 47]

I thought the cold open was quite good, and I thought that it was sweet that the whole cast was in the hallway for the waltz and did the intro together.

I listened to the show more than sat, watched and focused on it, but it seemed that Bobby really wasn't in it much last night. He's seemed kind of sidelined this second half of the season to me.  Not being 100% focused did help me appreciate the monologue, though.  I thought that the show title rang true ("Love from New York") and if it dragged, my split focus didn't pick it up.

Lewis ampersand Clark was so tiresome in making gay sex, and separately, sexual aggression, a punchline (why is that inherently funny in 2016?), but it's not a sketch that you can just write off because it did have its moments.  Kyle Mooney was a real star in his overly cheery intro, and I have to give Sasheer credit (finally) for her funny reaction shots.

Weekend Update wasn't that great in my opinion but they've had a really strong run this season, and so I can't hold it against them. 

I liked that the host and all the cameos were former cast members--Fred, Larry, Maya, Andy, Jason--gave it a nice family vibe.  I did think that there were too many sketches focused on the contradiction between the simultaneous pretentiousness, enthusiasm and low-rent nature of local theater.  Galileo908 mentioned that this theme must be in at least Fred's blood, and I think that's probably true:  look at everything in the episode and add Garth and Kat and Nicholas Fein (sp?).

[Princess Sparkle]

I almost forgot my favorite line in the whole show, probably because it came during Willie (which I normally don't like that much). I HOWLED when, after Michael told Willie that his memory of getting hosed by the police was terrible, that Willie's cheerful response was "But ALL lives matter Michael!"  It didn't get a big reaction from the audience, but I thought it was great. 

[Princess Sparkle]

5 minutes ago, Peace 47 said:

Lewis ampersand Clark was so tiresome in making gay sex, and separately, sexual aggression, a punchline (why is that inherently funny in 2016?), but it's not a sketch that you can just write off because it did have its moments.  Kyle Mooney was a real star in his overly cheery intro, and I have to give Sasheer credit (finally) for her funny reaction shots.

Kyle Mooney is so often my underrated MVP.  He can play the straight man really well, but he also can make the lamest lines so funny.  I get that the Good Neighbor sketches aren't for everyone, but I think he's a really solid utility player. 

[Sader87]

Continuing in a contrarian view here when it comes to SNL, I thought this was the best SNL ep all year....big Fred fan, loved the musical act etc. 

[VCRTracking]

The "Farewell Mr.Bunting" sketch is making the rounds online. Unfortunately some websites are already spoiling it using screencaps of the classroom and everyone splattered in blood or using
"blood"  and "gory" in the headline!  Idiots.

Edited May 22, 2016 by VCRTracking

[peeayebee]

I thought this was a great ep. Of course the highlight is Farewell Mr Bunting. It's a sin that some websites are spoiling the surprise because that's a big part of the joy. This was just amazing, and it was directed and acted perfectly. Who co-wrote this with Colin?

I really liked the cold open. The scene in the bar was funny, and the dance was sweet... until the elevator. I guess that's an acceptable punchline, but I was enjoying the sweetness and wished that was all there was.

Minority report: I loved the monologue. I love Armisen's style of humor, so this was wonderful. The bit he did with the audience member cracked me up, but I loved the whole thing.

The Lewis & Clark sketch was good. What I liked about it was the characters. Armisen's gift, imo, is creating great characters. 

The digital short was funny. I particularly liked Andy's reactions to Vanessa's bizarre statements. 

I like Regine -- the sketch, not the person -- but I really enjoyed seeing Vanessa break. I don't think I've seen that happen before. Everyone else breaking was fun too.

WU was all right. I hadn't heard the quote from Drumpf about the Egypt Air crash, but his saying that isn't surprising. I kind of liked Maya, but I couldn't understand her most of the time. Maybe that was intentional. I usually love Willie, but I thought the jokes here were weak.

The escape pod sketch was amusing. Not great, but I liked Fred having to make all his inflight selections.

I love the Student Theater Showcase sketches. I loved this one too.

The final bit with the Harkin Brothers was fine. It took me a moment to realize it wasn't supposed to be funny, just the whole gang together for the season finale.