S42.E02: Lin-Manuel Miranda / Twenty One Pilots

[AdorkableSars]

Didn't really now much about Lin-Manuel Miranda, nor had I seen him in anything, but dammmn, he crushed it tonight! Even the meh sketches (like the substitute teacher one), he gave it his all and really sold his characters. The monologue was amazing, I though. Even though I haven't seen Hamilton, I knew it had that feel, and it was so incredible. That intense rapping...so good. 

I seem to be in the minority who actually liked the camping sketch...primarily because for the first time this season, Vanessa Bayer was in a sketch. And I thought she was hilarious in this. Even Mooney was good! And I loved Cecily's incredulous reaction to the crazy siblings, and her husband liking them. This sketch made me laugh a lot.

Weekend Update CRUSHED it tonight. All of the Trump jokes were so on point. The Penn State locker room joke probably made me wake up my poor neighbors because I was laughing so hard. Like others have said, the guest spots were probably the weakest...and I say this as someone who loves resident young person Pete Davidson, Jimmy Fallon, and Queen Fey. 

Alec Baldwin's Trump is just phenomenal. 

Quote

I don't watch Stranger Things- I know! I'm going to get on that soon!- but I know enough based on clips and scenes but I do feel kind of out of the loop, I'm sure the skit is funnier to people who have seen it. I did laugh at a few things though. 

This is me too! I'm planning on watching it eventually, but haven't gotten around to it yet! Still enjoyed the sketch though.

The Crucible Cast party was the bomb, because it reminded me of every high school drama cast party I went to. Good times!

[Racj82]

2 hours ago, howmanywords said:

Because not everyone subscribes to Netflix. I did the free trial last year, didnt think it was worth the money and cancelled.  My cable bill is high enough.  Not everyone wants to pay $9 a month. BTW I certainly have heard of Stranger Things, just have no major interest in wanting to see it.

Lin -Manuel was fantastic. Even the obvious Hamilton monologue I enjoyed.  I thought he blended in so well with the cast it almost felt like he was a cast member.

Not everyone needs to come into defense of not watching Stranger Things. I know not everyone has netflix although I don't personally know anyone that doesn't. Doesn't mean they aren't out there. DVR's are only 25% of households which seems crazy to me. But, not everyone consumes entertainment the same way. It's THE pop culture phenomenon this year. It also came out the summer when there wasn't much of anything to watch which made it stick out even more. That's why it's weird for me. If you haven't seen it, that's fine. I already stated that. The kids are everywhere in terms of interviews. Every pop culture or entertainment entity has covered the show to the tilt. So, I'm not talking about a under the radar thing. Boy, is it out there. But, like I said, I do think it's partly an age thing. The show is like a love letter to the 80's which doesn't appeal to some people, sci fi doesn't appeal to some people, etc. But, with all the coverage the show gets, there is a lot you pick up without ever seeing the show which makes it a good target. The risk with pop culture is that what's obvious and seen by everyone somewhere is a non starter elsewhere. At least the skit seemed to make people laugh without show knowledge or much of it. So, props to them. Making it someone what topical is start although the show is set in the 80's where the parents dialogue don't actually fit.

As for the sketch itself, it was just playing off of the most obvious beats from the show and most talked about bits.

Where is the black kids family? We never see his home even though we know he has parents.

Where is Barb? The annoying # and topic of the summer.

Wynonna Rider is chewing up scenery by the boatload.

Eleven has crazy eyes.

So, it was a easy target. I know people were predicting a Stranger Things skit to happen in the premiere. They showed remarkable restraint in waiting a week. Margot could have even put on a dark wig and did a crazy Wynonna riff.

Edited October 9, 2016 by Racj82
add thoughts

[Princess Sparkle]

7 minutes ago, AdorkableSars said:

I seem to be in the minority who actually liked the camping sketch...primarily because for the first time this season, Vanessa Bayer was in a sketch. And I thought she was hilarious in this. Even Mooney was good! And I loved Cecily's incredulous reaction to the crazy siblings, and her husband liking them. This sketch made me laugh a lot.

 

 

I liked the campfire sketch too. I really wasn't expecting to, but every time they started singing "Footloose", I couldn't stop giggling. 

[shoregirl]

The monologue was amazing.  Probably the best in years. I'm going to guess that Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote it himself. I cheered when he sang the "he's never going to be president now" part of the Reynolds Pamphlet because that was in my head after what the tape was released. SNL really had  a gift when it came out because they basically got the first stab at it.

[peeayebee]

6 hours ago, Ottis said:

The Wells-Fargo skit was trying to say one thing but actually highlighted the fact that consumers are stupid and should really know at least something about finance before committing to loans for hundreds of thousands of dollars.  

Also, a big thing about the Wells Fargo issue was that the customers they signed up for accounts didn't even know it. 

I loved the Cold Open. The new gal, Melissa, made a great impression on me. Very well done. And I'm continuing to adore Mikey Day. He made an excellent Tim Kaine. Beck as Pence was good, too. Alec as Trump continues to rock. Man, he's good. "Are you not entertained?" What an excellent line. In addition to grabbing pu$$y, he can "also bop it, twist it, and pull it." Oh, and his inability to say 'apologize' was fantastic. "I appliagize."

Hillary's dance party was hysterical. 

I liked the monologue. I liked Lin-Manuel. I didn't particularly like him in any of the skits. I know, sacrilege. I just didn't think he was a good comedic performer.

I really liked the Day Off with Kellyanne Conway. Kate was great in it. Beck was also very funny as the CNN newsman becoming increasingly tired of her BS.

WU's whole bit on the Trump tape was great. My favorite line was that to a woman, hearing Tic-Tacs shaking in a man's pocket is like hearing the Jaws theme.

I usually really enjoy Jimmy Fallon, but he sucked here. I don't even mind his breaking, usually, but his amateurish performance was such a stark contrast to Tina's professionalism and talent as a comedienne.

I really liked this Melania Moments better than the last one. Her sensing the birth of a woman who would become Trump's next wife was funny, but even better was that she needed to find her in order to help her.

Hated the butt-plug sketch. The one good part was Mikey saying, "He died as he lived, sassy."

I loved Twenty One Pilots. I've really only been familiar with their songs Stressed Out and Falling, but I love their sound. I also love the singer's voice. And I liked that he smiled after his performances and acted goofy at the start of the goodbyes when there was no one there to hug.

[JessePinkman]

I'd think a fan of Stranger Things would have found that sketch particularly unfunny because it boiled down to "black people think white people are CRaZy!" (I know I'm sick of those sketches, I can only imagine how Leslie and Kenan feel) and hardly touched on anything unique to that series.

Lin was great but when isn't he? I hope he becomes a recurring host.

[Racj82]

1 hour ago, JessePinkman said:

I'd think a fan of Stranger Things would have found that sketch particularly unfunny because it boiled down to "black people think white people are CRaZy!" (I know I'm sick of those sketches, I can only imagine how Leslie and Kenan feel) and hardly touched on anything unique to that series.

Lin was great but when isn't he? I hope he becomes a recurring host.

That wasn't the point of their bits. They are afraid of white cops (because its topical) which is not white people be crazy.

[ktwo]

Quote

The Wells-Fargo skit was trying to say one thing but actually highlighted the fact that consumers are stupid and should really know at least something about finance before committing to loans for hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

The current Wells Fargo scandal is not about loans, it's about how their employees opened up multiple fee-generating retail accounts (checking, savings and debit cards) for their customers without their knowledge or permission. IIRC WF was actually one of the best actors among the big banks after the 2008 financial crisis - they had to have their arms twisted to take the bailout money because they didn't have enough bad loans to actually need it.

I showed my 12-year-old edited bits and pieces of this show once I watched it all the way through, and she remembered that LMM had been on PBS Kids' The Electric Company! They remade it a few years back.

[AdorkableSars]

Oh I also meant to mention that I am loving the three new cast members so far! They've all been great in all of the sketches that they've been in!

[JZL]

ARG.  I accidentally deleted my DVR recording having only watched through the campfire-singing sketch. 

Is there anywhere/way to watch the whole WU without doing a Hulu free-trial?

[cpcathy]

Try Youtube. I also saw it on EW.com

[mtlchick]

I am going to add "apple-gize" to my vocabulary.  

[Cyranetta]

One thing that impresses me this season is that the skits seem to be better crafted in their endings. They don't just fade away the way people complained about last season.

I hope Lin-Manuel Miranda gets looped in to the  mulitple-times hosting club. For me he's got a lovely precision of character crafting and a naturally radiant personality that works really well. I particularly liked the solo skit mostly in Spanish, and even though I don't speak it, I found myself having no problem understanding the skit overall and loved its unusually sweet tone.

As someone who did watch Stranger Things I did do a lot of laughing out loud.

[lovinbob]

3 hours ago, Racj82 said:

As for the sketch itself, it was just playing off of the most obvious beats from the show and most talked about bits.

Where is the black kids family? We never see his home even though we know he has parents.

Where is Barb? The annoying # and topic of the summer.

Wynonna Rider is chewing up scenery by the boatload.

Eleven has crazy eyes.

So, it was a easy target. I know people were predicting a Stranger Things skit to happen in the premiere. They showed remarkable restraint in waiting a week. Margot could have even put on a dark wig and did a crazy Wynonna riff.

I loved the Stranger Things sketch because I thought the Kenan/Leslie bit was a left turn. Managed to be a pop culture skit and a topical skit about racism. And LMM nailed Dustin! 

3 hours ago, Princess Sparkle said:

I liked the campfire sketch too. I really wasn't expecting to, but every time they started singing "Footloose", I couldn't stop giggling. 

I liked this sketch but to me it didn't belong as the second sketch. That monologue was all teeth and then the campfire sketch was random. Funny, but random. Weirdly enough I feel like it threw off the rest of the episode for me.

Baldwin's Trump makes me uncomfortable. I can barely look at him. That's not a bad thing. I think it reinforces what a genuine menace Trump is, rather than simply paint him as a buffoon.

[PepperMonkey]

I'm a white person and I think white people are crazy. I have no doubt that some or many black people think the same thing. That doesn't mean they hate us. I'm pretty sure that whites and blacks both side-eye me when I'm not looking.

[possibilities]

I am deliriously crazyballs over LMM, so I liked this episode. I honestly can't say what % was due to it actually being good, vs me just being giddy that LMM was there.

I have not seen Stranger Things (though I do watch Netflix; it's just that my queue is very long and I hate anything remotely 80s-focused). I'm 51. Just for statistical purposes.

My favorites were the cold open, monologue, call home to mom, most of WU (agree Tina and Jimmy should take a hike and regular cast should have taken their roles), Melania Moment, Wells Fargo/Music Man, Kellianne Conway. Kate + LMM is really everything I can ask for from the show. Let those two do whatever and I'll probably like it. If they can include Leslie, I'll be set for a long time.

I almost said I liked the Exorcist sketch, but then I realized that came from the "vintage" episode they aired earlier in the evening.

I liked that the sketches mostly ended quickly if they only had a little material, instead of stretching. More sketches that are short and funny would be fine with me, though long sketches that are funny the whole way through are also good. I just hate when they beat a premise to death because apparently they don't have anything else to fill the time.

Edited October 9, 2016 by possibilities
clarification

[JZL]

1 hour ago, cpcathy said:

Try Youtube. I also saw it on EW.com

Naw, just the Tina-Jimmy bit. 

12 minutes ago, PepperMonkey said:

I'm a white person and I think white people are crazy. I have no doubt that some or many black people think the same thing. That doesn't mean they hate us. I'm pretty sure that whites and blacks both side-eye me when I'm not looking.

Sorry, I'm not tracking this, what it's in response or reference to. 

--------------------------------------------------

From what I saw of the show, I agree LMM should be asked back.  His energy just draws people in. 

Edited October 9, 2016 by JZL

[Princess Sparkle]

1 hour ago, JZL said:

ARG.  I accidentally deleted my DVR recording having only watched through the campfire-singing sketch. 

Is there anywhere/way to watch the whole WU without doing a Hulu free-trial?

If you download the SNL app (it's free!) they have the whole WU segment on there. As a bonus - you also get SNL emojis. 

[buttersister]

Loved Lin. When do I not. Because of him, I watched the campfire sketch, which, had he not been in it, would have triggered my usual, good night, SNL reaction to so many weeks.

He tweeted that he and two of the SNL writers finished writing the monologue at 3:30 a.m. Saturday. Although, knowing Lin, he rewrote some of it later in the day.

Couldn't have Tina showed up without Jimmy? The only reason he had for existing was so she could unload on him for the DT interview.

[JessePinkman]

2 hours ago, Racj82 said:

That wasn't the point of their bits. They are afraid of white cops (because its topical) which is not white people be crazy.

Huh? They did more than react to the prescence of a white cop in that sketch.

As someone that could only muscle my way through 3 episodes of stranger things I found that bit lacking. I've seen funnier inside bits about the show on YouTube.

I agree that the sketches are ending much better this season so far. It's not some bit of randomness then the end, they've actually picked endings.

[wknt3]

9 hours ago, Ottis said:

The Wells-Fargo skit was trying to say one thing but actually highlighted the fact that consumers are stupid and should really know at least something about finance before committing to loans for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

This statement reminds me of how much I miss Really with Seth and Amy!?! As far as the sketch the only problem with it was that it didn't really end up saying much of anything about the Wells Fargo scandal. I still liked it a lot because it was different, it was so well executed as far as singing, choreography, camera work, etc. and everybody really sold it. But as far as the writing there was the reference to mortgages (which I'm assuming your referring to) that was really out of place and there really wasn't any satire or pointed commentary. They could have had the townspeople being told they were signing for the delivery of the instruments and actually signing up for checking accounts, or him asking them for their names and putting them down as buying instruments while his boss tells him that he needs to keep selling more - "76 trombones! Your quota is 126!" and they protest helplessly. Compare it to the Kellyanne Conway sketch which was also very well performed and strong in all the technical aspects, and was funny on it's own merits, but also had something to say about cable news, Trump, and the campaign. And, of course, the way some people will try to defend the indefensible with ridiculous talking points.

[Ottis]

Quote

The current Wells Fargo scandal is not about loans, it's about how their employees opened up multiple fee-generating retail accounts (checking, savings and debit cards) for their customers without their knowledge or permission. IIRC WF was actually one of the best actors among the big banks after the 2008 financial crisis - they had to have their arms twisted to take the bailout money because they didn't have enough bad loans to actually need it.

You missed some lines. While the WF scandal was about accounts, in the skit there were lines about credit cards and, because the "kid" had an account,  "an exploding mortgage." My point was that the implication of the entire skit was that the bank took advantage of people, when in fact the characters were too stupid to understand what was being offered to them and said yes, anyway (in the real world as well for mortgages and loans), and the actual WF account scandal happened without most people even knowing about it.

[Racj82]

5 hours ago, JZL said:

Naw, just the Tina-Jimmy bit. 

Sorry, I'm not tracking this, what it's in response or reference to. 

--------------------------------------------------

From what I saw of the show, I agree LMM should be asked back.  His energy just draws people in. 

The quoted comment is response to a comment about how the stranger things skit was basically a white people be crazy sketch.

[Racj82]

4 hours ago, JessePinkman said:

Huh? They did more than react to the prescence of a white cop in that sketch.

As someone that could only muscle my way through 3 episodes of stranger things I found that bit lacking. I've seen funnier inside bits about the show on YouTube.

I agree that the sketches are ending much better this season so far. It's not some bit of randomness then the end, they've actually picked endings.

Other than Wynonna which was basically just calling her crazy not white people, it was about these people getting you into trouble and then came the cop as a capper to the bit. It also tracks with the show since Lucas basically did the same thing most of the show. Pointing out the stupidity of not calling the cops and peacing out when shit got too hectic. He was the stereotype of the black man in horror movies calling out nonsense in multiple ways.

[gatopretoNYC]

13 hours ago, Gemma Violet said:

One of my favorite parts of the whole show was Kate in the cold open dancing as Hilary to Celebration.

I LOVED that. I watched it over and over again last night. :D

[Lizzing]

Back in the day, I liked Jimmy & Tina together.  Now, not so much, because I'm just weary of Jimmy's humor.  I think their WU bit would have worked better if it were Tina & Amy (though it'd have been harder to get in the jab at Jimmy's hair tousling). Amy could handle the accent and I can totally see her in a Pink Ladies satin jacket.

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 10/9/2016 at 2:43 AM, Racj82 said:

How is it possible to have a whole thread full of non stranger things watchers? It has to be a age thing. It's fine if you didn't. At this point, it's just weird to read about someone having not watched it or actively ignoring it. 

The reaction to the show is very intense.  The people that like the show kind of in my opinion "go crazy" about it.  I watched one episode.  It was fine.  A few weeks later, I watched another.  I haven't continued (yet).  I have no urgency to binge and tell everyone about it.  Yet there seem to be a lot of fans that do.  My point is the range of reactions to the show is extremely varied.  Some, like me, are neutral.  And, according to your screen name, I'll assume we are the same age.

Quote

 

It's THE pop culture phenomenon this year.

Maybe, but as has already pointed out, you'd have to first have Netflix to enjoy it, and then secondly, actually think it's great.  I am wondering if there are other people like me, who saw it and simply didn't go nuts for it.  I even wonder if it's more a race thing, than an age thing.  For example, a lot of writers have pointed out how Baz Luhrmann's "The Get Down" is ALSO very nostalgic about a particular era (70s) and is ALSO on Netflix, yet hasn't received the same warm reaction.

Anyways, I REALLY liked the sketch.

Kate only had a few lines here or there in some sketches but to me everything she says is hysterical.

I expected a lot with Lin-Manuel.  People treat him like some sort of God.  The show was fine and so was he.  I expected a bit more.  I liked Jimmy and Tina.

Having the Hispanic cast member play an Asian woman and play it off like it's cute was incredibly moronic. Season after season, complaint after complaint, this show straight up refuses to improve on this matter.

 

Edited October 10, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[jcin617]

On ‎10‎/‎9‎/‎2016 at 1:43 AM, Bees said:

Diego Calls His Mom: I enjoyed this. Though I was totally rooting for Diego and Preston to fall in love. 

If I interpreted the story correctly, Preston was in love with Diego, right?   I couldn't quite tell what if that's what they were implying- but I assumed it was something like that with Diego's line about Preston's deep blue eyes and spending all their time together.

[ChromaKelly]

Is it wrong that I found Lin rather hot in the Crucible Cast Party skit? I've watched that too many times now.

[Syd]

I loved the Kellyann Conway skit. Other than that, I didn't find the episode funny at all. Probably because I find Lin-Manuel Miranda so unlikable. 

[AriAu]

A few random thought:

1.The monologue was awesome. I came to this site solely to see if anyone knew if Lin wrote it alone and a little surprised that it was a collaboration-figured he could throw that together on the plane from O'Hare to LaGuardia! Loved the crazy stuff in the background, a staple when they wander thru the hallways-guy in the Lincoln get-up talking to chorus girls etc.

2. Monologue was a great reminder that while Lin-Manuel is a once in a generation writer, he is only an ok singer or dancer. The campfire and classroom scenes were not his best moments.

3. Lorne and SNL got a lot of (well deserved) grief for pandering to Trump by letting him on and they really have not unloaded on him. Seems like someone told Lorne that it was ok to take the gloves all the way off and Jost and Che were pulling no punches. Last week was more satire-this week was bludgeoning-maybe it was the Access Hollywood tape or something else, but it was VERY clear that the SNL cast had it with Donald J Trump's lies.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

16 hours ago, Princess Sparkle said:

  18 hours ago, JZL said:

ARG.  I accidentally deleted my DVR recording having only watched through the campfire-singing sketch. 

Is there anywhere/way to watch the whole WU without doing a Hulu free-trial?

If you were able to watch it on TV, does that mean you have a cable subscription?  If so, you can watch it on the NBC website.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

Watch The Highlights From Lin-Manuel Miranda's Debut On Saturday Night Live

Did America's Revolutionary Sweetheart rap his way into comedy history?

[VCRTracking]

Quote

Having the Hispanic cast member play an Asian woman and play it off like it's cute was incredibly moronic. Season after season, complaint after complaint, this show straight up refuses to improve on this matter.

I wish they'd cast an Asian woman for diversity and so they can finally tear apart Michelle Malkin.

ETA:

I forgot Nasim played her on an Weekend Update years ago. Still wish it would happen more often.

Edited October 10, 2016 by VCRTracking

[helenamonster]

Wow, so much to unpack in just that first cold open joke. Like yeah, okay, this show's continuous struggle with diversity is indeed apparent, but there's no bite when someone from the show points that out. Like, literally just do something about it. This is "we haven't had any black women cast members since 2007, aren't we the gosh darn worst???" all over again. Ugh. And it came from the new cast member who has her own person history of being a racist dickwad. This whole thing just hurts my brain.

Moving on, the rest of the cold open was really great, I thought. And I bet when Pussygate broke, they were so happy they didn't have to do a full VP debate sketch. Mikey and Beck were perfect choices for the impressions, but there really wasn't a lot of material to work with, imo. Alec is still killing it. His impression was so spot on that at one point I became just as nauseous as I was when I first heard the real Trump recording.

I know I'll probably be waiting for the rest of my life for this, but I would really love it if Lorne would step up and apologize for letting Trump host the show last year. It's like Melissa's cold open joke. Just pointing it out in an "aww shucks, we done goofed" way is really obnoxious and misses the point. That picture of Trump should be thrown from the 30 Rock Observation Deck. He is a dangerous man invoking dangerous ideas, and he was that same guy this time last year. We all knew that. Lorne and Co. enabled that and they don't get a free pass.

Crucible Cast Party was awesome. Ah, I remember being a sweaty high school theater kid. The teacher coming to the party rang especially true.

I think Colin and Michael killed on Update, and I'm wondering if that's because SNL got the first crack at the Pussygate jokes, since the video was released on Friday. I didn't like Pete's bit, though. I'm still not charmed by his gooberness. Why do they always set him up to come out and talk about something and then he, like, never talks about that thing? Hopefully a lot of people will watch his Comedy Central stand-up special and then these bits can end.

I was wondering how the Tina/Jimmy Update bit played to people who are unfamiliar with southeastern Pennsylvania/suburban Philadelphia, and it seems not well? Though maybe that's due to Jimmy's breaking. Lemme tell y'all. I've leaved in southeastern PA my whole life except for my four years at college. They nailed it. More Tina than Jimmy, but she's from here too. God, that vest Tina was wearing? 99% sure my mom owns the exact same one. And Tina's voice especially was uncanny. Also, this might be a coincidence but knowing what a meticulous writer Tina is, a little southeastern PA trivia for y'all! One: she called Mike Pence Biff from Back to the Future. Thomas F. Wilson, who played Biff, went to my high school in southeastern PA! And two: she talked about Pink Ladies jackets from a Grease-themed party. Randal Kleiser, who directed the film version of Grease, also went to my high school!

I though Diego Calls His Mom was incredibly sweet. I love the more sentimental pre-taped bits. This one reminded me of the one from last season where Kate and Kyle were the kids of Golden Globe winners who told them to "go to bed!" during their acceptance speech.

Yes, Melania Moments is officially recurring! Can we keep getting them even after her dreadful husband eats Clinton's blue dust in the election? Please oh please?

I have a deeply unpopular opinion, but I feel safe confessing it to y'all: I don't care about Hamilton. I was in school in New York last year when the craze was at its peak and everyone was foaming at the mouth to get tickets and I...didn't care. I've seen some of the songs on TV and whatnot and I'm...unimpressed. I don't begrudge Lin his success and I think it's great that there's an extremely popular musical that's helping to make theater cool again while also offering great lead parts to minority actors, but I don't get what the big special snowflake deal is with it and I never will. That being said, I thought Lin was awesome tonight. He blended right in with the rest of the cast and seemed totally comfortable the whole show, which I'm sure his Broadway experience has helped with tremendously. I would love for him to come back and host again. Overall I thought the show was great.

[Princess Sparkle]

20 minutes ago, helenamonster said:

I think Colin and Michael killed on Update, and I'm wondering if that's because SNL got the first crack at the Pussygate jokes, since the video was released on Friday. 

 

Yeah, I think you've hit on something regarding the timing here. I think because of the timing of the debates this year, plus an increase in late night shows concentrating on politics this year - we had TDS and TCR in 2012, now we still have TDS and Colbert, but we also have Seth Meyers, Samantha Bee, and John Oliver - SNL (and WU by extension) get to all these stories last and when a lot of the best jokes have already been taken and covered by other shows. I wouldn't be surprised if they skip a debate sketch entirely next week, since they'll be almost a full week out from it. They'll still be behind the 8-ball on the final debate, since that one happens on a Wednesday. But this is the first major election story they've gotten to first and IMO, they knocked it out of the park. 

They really should consider bringing back the mid-week election specials like they did in 2012. That way, they could make some of the  political sketches a bit more timely rather than having to save them up for the weekend. 

[helenamonster]

I also wanted to say that I loooooved seeing Twenty One Pilots as the musical guest. They are one of my favorite bands (duos? how many people do you need for a band?) right now and are in a league of their own with their musical style.

[topanga]

On 10/9/2016 at 0:30 PM, cpcathy said:

I loved this episode, just enjoyed the hell out of it. Cold opening--awesome. I hadn't known anything about Lin- Manuel Miranda, but I knew he was supposed to be extremely talented so I was going to stick around this week, but I thought he was really great, the opening song was great, and he seemed like a cast member, so comfortable, just fit in with everyone so well.

I actually loved Jimmy and Tina coming on, I love former cast members' appearances, it just makes me go to my happy place.

Another one here who did not watch Stranger Things. I just can't get around to it. Maybe I'll try....

I laughed out loud with this episode more than I usually do with SNL.

I liked that Lin- Manuel Miranda addressed the fact that despite the success of Hamilton on Broadway, most of the country wouldn't know who he was. He did a great job in the monologue of walking and rapping while reading cue cards. I wonder if he wrote the rap himself.

--He's a great actor overall, and I enjoyed every scene he was part of.

And I loved some of the skits that others didn't: The Campfire skit, Weekend Update, Substitute teacher. I enjoyed Tina and Jimmy's appearance. But why did Jimmy seemed so frazzled and unprepared while Tina seemed so ready to do her part? I'm going to give Jimmy the benefit of the doubt because he has a busy full-time job during the week. He probably didn't have as much time to prepare as Tina did. Oh, and Tina sounded exactly like a suburban Philadelphia woman (she would know-she's actually from the Philadelphia suburbs). Jimmy went with the typical South Philly accent, which was funny, but he had trouble staying in character. Still funny because he had Tina next to him to be his straight-funny man (woman) and to help him out when he lost his way.

I didn't watch Stranger Things, but I'd heard enough about it (the missing kid, the monster, we don't know anything about the black kid's family) to laugh at the sketch.

[wknt3]

7 hours ago, helenamonster said:

I think Colin and Michael killed on Update, and I'm wondering if that's because SNL got the first crack at the Pussygate jokes, since the video was released on Friday.

I think it's a combination of timing and great material to work with. Just about everyone in late night comedy did some terrific bits on this and there are probably still some angles left uncovered as to why it was so disgusting. The bigger thing timing wise was it meant there was one big story that everyone except maybe Rudy Giuliani could agree was the most important story of the week and was dominating the discussion that weekend. Previously you might have had 40 good jokes on Wednesday, and maybe you lost 3 to the other shows doing them first, but the biggger thing was that you were like Kellyanne Conway in this week's sketch constantly having to respond to the newest outrage which was outmoded and forgotten with something bigger and more offensive in a few hours and no 2 observers could necessarily agree on what was the big story of the week by Saturday night.
 

Quote

I was wondering how the Tina/Jimmy Update bit played to people who are unfamiliar with southeastern Pennsylvania/suburban Philadelphia, and it seems not well? Though maybe that's due to Jimmy's breaking. Lemme tell y'all. I've leaved in southeastern PA my whole life except for my four years at college. They nailed it. More Tina than Jimmy, but she's from here too. God, that vest Tina was wearing? 99% sure my mom owns the exact same one. And Tina's voice especially was uncanny. Also, this might be a coincidence but knowing what a meticulous writer Tina is, a little southeastern PA trivia for y'all! One: she called Mike Pence Biff from Back to the Future. Thomas F. Wilson, who played Biff, went to my high school in southeastern PA! And two: she talked about Pink Ladies jackets from a Grease-themed party. Randal Kleiser, who directed the film version of Grease, also went to my high school!

I'm familiar with the area. Not as familiar as you, but I have been there many times and know people who grew up there and live there. And I agree that they nailed it. It still didn't play well to me - loved the writing, loved Tina's part, but Jimmy's half assed performance killed it for me. Also as others have said it wasn't all that novel. Now if you brought back Will as W. to talk about how he might have made some mistakes, but at least he knew you couldn't just nuke the Middle East, the whole Bush-Trump feud, etc. THAT would have been the huge get that the show seemed to want us to believe this was.

[lou ann b]

I agree that  I love Tina and Jimmy, but the "cool kids" need to stop returning to high school. I know that they're buds with the principal (Lorne),but the underclassmen need their time in the sun now. 

That being said, can I have a baby with LMM?

[DollEyes]

7 minutes ago, lou ann b said:

I agree that  I love Tina and Jimmy, but the "cool kids" need to stop returning to high school. I know that they're buds with the principal (Lorne),but the underclassmen need their time in the sun now. 

That being said, can I have a baby with LMM?

Re the latter part, he's married, so I don't think so. 

[Traveller519]

So I'm pretty sure Tina and Jimmy were having drinks Friday night and said "We should go back and do a cameo for election season!" And then they kept drinking right through the actual performance of whatever the hell that was supposed to be.

-"Pennsylvania's a battleground state, right? I'll do my Philly accent"
-"Oh what if I'm in drag"
-"Nah, nah, nah, we don't need any help writing this, we'll just go do it, don't even bother putting it on a cue card"

It killed a lot of the momentum of a fantastic Update. Overall liked just about everything else about the show though!

[M. Darcy]

My favorite part of the monologue is that we got to see the showgirls, Abe Lincoln and the llama. 

[lou ann b]

IDoll Eyes, LMM is 20 years younger than I am,  AND married , so I know I don't have a chance, lol.But...yeah..quite nice . M Darcy..I LIVE for a glimpse of the showgirls, Lincoln,  and llama.Takes me back to the very beginning of SNL.

Edited October 12, 2016 by lou ann b
spelling

[PatternRec]

What's the significance of the llama?

[lou ann b]

There is none. Just a goofy random thing SNL has done for decades.

[PatternRec]

I thought it was a solid episode. I don't like Baldwin's Trump as much as some - he seems to fall into his Nixon and Robert Deniro impressions too much during it. I'm glad they hung a lampshade on the racial thing. I don't think it excuses the lack of diversity, but a sketch like this, where they don't have the right actor for a part opens a door for the writers and players to convince Lorne and the others who do the hiring to get some more diversity. 

edit: "Tic Tacs- grab bad breath by the pussy" deserves another mention 

Edited October 13, 2016 by PatternRec

[possibilities]

2 hours ago, PatternRec said:

edit: "Tic Tacs- grab bad breath by the pussy" deserves another mention 

Seriously! I thought I had reached my limit on jokes about this incident, but that one got me! And since Tic Tac has denounced Trump's comments, and Skittles denounced his son's use of Skittles in a comparison to immigrants a week or 2 ago, someone needs to write a skit about Trump alienating "Big Candy" or something, because I am finding it particularly hilarious and well-timed for Halloween that "even candy is fighting back" in this campaign.
 

[DollEyes]

  Loved it, for the most part. The Cold Open combining the VP debate with Pussygate was inspired. Since the story broke-no, exploded-last Friday, the writers must have been bouncing off the walls by showtime. This story was impossible to resist and the writers delivered again, at least on that score. The first part was good, but the second part was classic because of Alec Baldwin and Kate McKinnon. The written jokes and the physical comedy were equally on-point. As for host Lin-Manuel Miranda, loved him. Hamilton has not only revolutionized Broadway and hip-hop, it's become such a pop-culture phenom that L-MM was named one of Time  magazine's "100 Most Influential Of 2015" and Lin-Manuel was on the cover of Rolling Stone a few months ago and he's on one of the covers of the new issue of GQ.  Lin-Manuel's reboot of "My Shot" was arguably the best musical opening number that SNL has done in years. It was energetic, it was timely and most of all, it was funny, especially the dig at Trump. The substitute teacher and the campfire sketches were a little lame, but the "Crucible Cast Party" & "Wells Fargo" sketches made up for them. 

"Weekend Update"'s take on Pussygate was almost perfect, but instead of wasting time on that undecided voters sketch, there should have been a special "Really!?" with Seth Meyers, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, with one of them calling out Jimmy Fallon for that mussing Trump's hair bullshit, cuing to an embarrassed Fallon with a bag over his head saying "I apple-gize." 

On 10/10/2016 at 10:10 AM, Syd said:

I loved the Kellyann Conway skit. Other than that, I didn't find the episode funny at all. Probably because I find Lin-Manuel Miranda so unlikable. 

  While ITA that the Kellyanne Conway sketch was hilarious, about L-MM, one person's "unlikable" is another's totally adorable. Such is the beauty of varying mileages. 

I wish that the third Presidential Debate was sponsored by Tic-Tacs, if only for that parody. "Grab bad breath by the pussy," indeed. 

Edited October 22, 2016 by DollEyes

[methodwriter85]

As a guy who has been doing school and community theater for almost 20 years, I was DYING at the Crucible Cast party skit. Oh, my god, it was so accurate.