S42.E07: Kristen Wiig / The xx

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

Kristen Wiig hosts; The xx is the musical guest.

[hendersonrocks]

I wish Saturday Night Live would let me get to a point where I might someday miss Kristen Wiig. 

[Bees]

So what's the over-under on cameos from late 00s SNL cast members? I'd say about 4. 

[VCRTracking]

[JZL]

On 11/14/2016 at 10:45 AM, hendersonrocks said:

I wish Saturday Night Live would let me get to a point where I might someday miss Kristen Wiig. 

Huh, wha?  I hope it never gets that bad.  Ohhhh, you're meaning she's back too often? [nods]

20 hours ago, Bees said:

So what's the over-under on cameos from late 00s SNL cast members? I'd say about 4. 

This probably depends on who's in NY.  Armisen is a lock.  Maya is a lock.  Jsuds, Hader, and Forte prolly not but maaaaybe.  Perhaps one of those. 

She was never real close to Tina or Amy was she?  Fallon maaaybe.  Hate to be redundant, but four sounds about right.

And a Jon Hamm sighting is very likely.  He should host again.  Hasn't it been a while or am I missing one?

Edited November 17, 2016 by JZL

[hendersonrocks]

Quote

Ohhhh, you're meaning she's back too often? [nods]

PRECISELY. Let it go, Lorne. 

[MakeMeLaugh]

If you're going to leave, just leave. The regular cast's time is already diluted enough without former cast members hogging the skits as a host or cameo player when they want to flog their current endeavors.

[Phishbulb]

17 hours ago, JZL said:

This probably depends on who's in NY.  Armisen is a lock.  Maya is a lock.  Jsuds, Hader, and Forte prolly not but maaaaybe.  Perhaps one of those. 

Fred actually has not been on Seth Meyers' show this week, implying that he's somewhere else rather than NY (perhaps filming "Portlandia"?) I'm sure he can probably make the trip to cameo on SNL though if they want to do "The Californians" yet again.

Sudeikis is actually booked on "The Tonight Show" next Monday, so there's a good chance he might be appearing this weekend as well. 

[vb68]

So does anybody wanna make predictions on how many old characters we see from her?

I'll say Doonese (Lawrence Welk), Surprise Sue, Target Lady, and Aunt Linda on Update. Possibly Penelope.   Please, please, please not Gilly.

I was very tempted to say Secret Word but that depends on whether Hader is in the building.

Edited November 17, 2016 by vb68

[Maverick]

 I can tolerate Target Lady (and sometimes liked it, but more because of the guest star..."but on the Mic I'm known as Sir Cumfrance") but I can't take Garth and Kat, Penelople (is she the one-upper of the 'hot' chick with the breathy voice...either way, hate em both), Gilly, Secret Word,  Don't Ask Me to Dance or Surprise Sue.   Those are all instant change the channel characters for me.

[JZL]

1 minute ago, Maverick said:

 I can tolerate Target Lady (and sometimes liked it, but more because of the guest star..."but on the Mic I'm known as Sir Cumfrance") but I can't take Garth and Kat, Penelople (is she the one-upper of the 'hot' chick with the breathy voice...either way, hate em both), Gilly, Secret Word,  Don't Ask Me to Dance or Surprise Sue.   Those are all instant change the channel characters for me.

Concur.  I plan to change the channel for the whole show.  Let's see if the ratings tank.

[Phishbulb]

"Secret Word" I actually wouldn't mind seeing again, because it's been a really long time since the last one of those (2012). The Californians, Lawrence Welk, and Target Lady were all done the last time she hosted and I feel like they've been done to death. Garth & Kat I will legit fast forward through if they do that again.

Actually, since it's a Thanksgiving show, maybe they will do the Vogelchecks? (the family that kisses each other all the time) That would require cameos by Fred, Bill, Andy and (ideally) Paul Rudd though. Might be asking a bit much (although they did it when Andy Samberg hosted the season 39 finale). 

[vb68]

Quote

Penelople (is she the one-upper of the 'hot' chick with the breathy voice...either way, hate em both)

Penelope is indeed the one upper.  I think the other one is Shauna?

And I had blocked out Garth and Kat. Ugh.

With all the news this, I can see her playing Nancy Pelosi again.  That would be fine.

[Princess Sparkle]

3 hours ago, Phishbulb said:

"Secret Word" I actually wouldn't mind seeing again, because it's been a really long time since the last one of those (2012). The Californians, Lawrence Welk, and Target Lady were all done the last time she hosted and I feel like they've been done to death. Garth & Kat I will legit fast forward through if they do that again.

Actually, since it's a Thanksgiving show, maybe they will do the Vogelchecks? (the family that kisses each other all the time) That would require cameos by Fred, Bill, Andy and (ideally) Paul Rudd though. Might be asking a bit much (although they did it when Andy Samberg hosted the season 39 finale). 

I wouldn't mind Secret Word either; even though it was mostly the same joke, I got legitimate laughs from that sketch.  The Channing Tatum one is one of my favorites; "I was fired for saying the wrong line; I said 'Miss Tiffany, your husband has been shot in the face by a slave' when I was supposed to say 'Good Morning y'all!'" makes me giggle just thinking about it.  The one Kristen character I would welcome, but she stopped doing, is the "Two A-Holes" couple that she used to do with Jason Suedekis.  I don't know why they stopped doing those; I always thought those were hilarious.

But the Vogelchecks is by far my least favorite sketch, and I'm hoping that since they didn't do it with Fred, they won't do it here.  I bet we get a Family Feud or game show sketch where she's Kathie Lee.  I'm also hoping that while I'm apprehensive about how much I'm going to like this episode, that it ends up being more like when Fred hosted last season.  I ended up being pleasantly surprised by how good his episode was, and that there wasn't an over-reliance on former cast members.  

What is a real shame is that I think Kristen is quite funny, and when she's in movies, I think she's hysterical.  I also loved her in The Spoils of Babylon; it's just on SNL that her characters get really worn out quickly because of how often the writers relied on them when she was on the show.

ETA: Just saw on Vanity Fair online that Alec confirmed he'll be back as Trump for this week's episode and will do it periodically after that.

Edited November 18, 2016 by Princess Sparkle

[JZL]

On 11/17/2016 at 9:43 AM, hendersonrocks said:

PRECISELY. Let it go, Lorne.   <--- No kidding!

Just being reminded about some of these characters and sketches makes me appreciate how good the show is RIGHT NOW!

Edited November 19, 2016 by JZL

[Galileo908]

On 11/17/2016 at 3:23 PM, MakeMeLaugh said:

If you're going to leave, just leave. The regular cast's time is already diluted enough without former cast members hogging the skits as a host or cameo player when they want to flog their current endeavors.

Seriously, Jon Lovitz knew when to go away. Either that, or they changed the locks on him.

Let's get this over with.

Cold Open: Alec Baldwin back as Drumpf! This would be funnier if this wasn't actually how I picture Drumpf acting right now. And we have our first cameo: Jason Sudeikis as Mitt Romney.

Monologue: I wish Kristen kept up the joke with the guitars. If she kept switching out stuff and never made it to the song, it would've been great. And okay, who had "Steve Martin saves the monologue with Will Forte" on their card? 

Current cameo count is 3, I expect it to rise after this.

The Bubble: This was perfect, we put a dome over Brooklyn and we get to continue living in Non-Drumpf America. (NOTE: I wrote that before that was revealed to LITERALLY be the slogan) The currency being Bernie Bucks was just icing. 

Secret Word: All the hits are coming back tonight. And technically cameo #4 is Bill Hader's voice. Ahh, it's a nice detail that they show that Secret Word was filmed in 1964. And lampshaded how Kenan's the host.

Anderson Cooper: Again, this would've been funnier if this wasn't all true. The punchline that they were all robots programmed for outrage was great, though. The Westworld ad was a little much.

Target: How did they nail the Target experience so well? I just realized that SNL had a Target sketch...WITHOUT the Target Lady.

QVC Audition Reels: Kristen Wiig was always at her best in sketches where she was competing with someone else. This was a slow burn that just got better.

WU: Calling Breitbart a news site is insulting to news. And yeah, it's all about Trump and it's all on fire. The material, not America. Not yet, anyway. Don't blame the cast for that Trump episode, they just had to smile and act. It was nice to see Pete Davison and Willie back again.

Macy's Parade: Okay, Kristen's large, grinning face taking up the whole screen was not something I needed to see. And somehow Bobby as Pennywise was worse. "So much for defying gravity" was the line of the night, right there.

Whiskers R We: Yay, this is back! And this must mean something much weirder is taking the 12:55 slot. I love cats and people saying weird, mean things to cats. They're cute and don't know any better. Bobby coming in as Mr. Majestical was great, and a good change-up.

Oh My God: SIGH. We're ending with this. Kristen eating the pillow was the only good gag here.

Not even before Secret Word was over, I was thinking that I'd rather watch the Drumpf episode since I missed most of it. NOT a good sign. But then after that, I felt like the good sketches started to show up.

[Lantern7]

Alec stayed on until the end. It's a Thanksgiving miracle!

I know Kristen gets a lot of animosity, but I thought she did a good job. I'm amazed there was still a studio after Dave Chappelle burned it to the ground.

Pete? Some of us Staten Islanders went blue. Sadly, I recognized the map, and I'm in a red area. I can see why he would be pissed off. That, and why he'd need drugs to get by.

[Galileo908]

I can never fault Kristen Wiig for her committment. She always goes 100% into anything she plays, no mater how stupid or minor the role is. It's just that to me, she gives off this aura that she sucks in all the energy in the room to her, and damn if anyone else gets in her way. She comes off as SNL's Poochie, in which whenever she's not onscreen everyone seems to want to ask "Where's Kristen?"

Edited November 20, 2016 by Galileo908

[Gemma Violet]

The cold opening was the only sketch I cared for, but then I never cared for Kristin Wiig.  The only thing she's done that I like was doing the voice of Lucy in Despicable Me 2.  

[vb68]

So this was a fairly typical Wiig episode.   It had some high points, but mostly it felt pretty flat IMO.  To be fair, I guess after last week any show would probably feel that way.

I enjoyed Kate's take on Kellyanne Conway in the opening even though I bet Kellyanne is pretty much on cloud nine right now.  It felt like Kate was throwing a tremendous amount of shade. 

Quote

 I wish Kristen kept up the joke with the guitars.

Me too.  I thought that's what they were going for at first.

I called Sue, but never thought they'd do Secret Word without Bill there.   No disrespect to Kenan, but it was missing some of the rhythm.  Bill had the "oh booooyyyy" reactions down pat and was always the best thing about about it.

I did like CNN sketch because those panels really are inane, and anything that calls out cable news right now is a-ok with me.  And as someone who feels like they practically live at Target sometimes, I really related to that more than I want to admit.

Who knew Pete felt so strongly about politics?  He's maybe talked about it once or twice before, but it really didn't come through as much before tonight.  I thought his stint was just ok, but appreciate the effort.  And Sudeikis and Forte are there and we get freaking Willie over Jon Bovi or even the ESPN Classic guys? Boo!  At least  it wasn't Garth and Kat.  Pretty surprised Kristin didn't do anything on Update.

Whiskers R We was genuinely funny.  Probably my favorite of the night. 

I know I put waaaay too much thought into it, but why don't other characters get a clue and stop inviting Sue when there's going to be a surprise?  I know, just saying.  The sketch annoys me that much that I have to dissect it.

Still miss Taran, but Beck has stepped up as the lead straight guy for most sketches.  I still think he would had been a great for Update, but I digress.

Oh yeah, Kristin's short haircut reminded me a bit of Carol Burnett for some reason.

Happy Thanksgiving guys.

Edited November 20, 2016 by vb68

[ottoDbusdriver]

I only caught the last half of the first set of 'the XX' and it appeared to be nothing more than a guy with a sampling keyboard while two people did a dance battle with their guitars.  Was the first half of the first set any better ?  And based on what I saw in first set I just changed the channel during the 2nd set.

Seriously, what was that ?

Was glad to see the return of Willie on WU.  Poor Lucius.

[pigs-in-space]

5 minutes ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

I only caught the last half of the first set of 'the XX' and it appeared to be nothing more than a guy with a sampling keyboard while two people did a dance battle with their guitars.  Was the first half of the first set any better ?  And based on what I saw in first set I just changed the channel during the 2nd set.

Seriously, what was that ?

I wondered if their mikes weren't working properly, since they were singing but I couldn't really hear much...I put them on mute and watched something on YouTube instead.

I am probably in the minority, but I found almost all of this episode to be pretty funny, with a few laugh-out-loud moments (the giant balloons which were so ridiculous I couldn't help it, the pillow gag, the cat sketch return).  Different strokes for different folks I guess.

[Pete Martell]

I only ever talk about SNL to bellyache about it, I realized last week, but I did watch part of tonight's and I did actually laugh, grimly, at the "You're the reason I'll never get impeached," joke because it is scarily, scarily accurate. 

[Spartan Girl]

I would have liked this episode better if they had a Ghostbusters reunion with Kristen, Leslie, Kate, and a cameo from Melissa.

Alec's Drumpf is funny, but not funny enough to make me feel any better about him winning. Wish the real KAC showed as much regret and remorse as Kate's. 

[Inquisitionist]

Did that little boy in the Macy's parade sketch also play young James Corden in the Tony's opening sketch?  (Go to the 2:20 mark in the video) 

[nowandlater]

[Phishbulb]

14 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

"So much for defying gravity" was the line of the night, right there. 

Haha, doesn't really make sense because that is Elphaba's song, not G(a)linda's, but points to the writers for trying to be clever anyway :)

[Princess Sparkle]

I have to admit, I am terrified of clowns and Bobby's large Pennywise balloon scared me so much I had to fast forward the rest of the sketch. 

I actually think my favorite bit of the whole episode was in The Bubble sketch - it was Sasheer's face right after Kyle said "We don't see race, we celebrate it!"  

This was my least favorite episode of the season so far, but it wasn't necessarily a bad episode to me. It's just coming off the heels of the best episode of the season so far (IMO) and a lot of the typical Kristen bits just fell flat.  I thought WU was good - I liked the "But it's all worth it to help a billionaire go night-night in his big boy bed" line and I thought Pete's segment was well done - and I was surprised by how funny I found the QVC auditions.

[stonehaven]

I only watched the opening and Update...and the highlight for me remains Jason Sudekis as Romney...all they needed was for Romney to look Trump in the eye and say "It should have been me"...

[punkypower]

Word up to bb68...HOW did we not get a ESPN Classic sketch with both Jason and Will there?!?!

I knew I was hoping for too much for a Vincent Price Thanksgiving Special when I saw the Secret Word sketch had replaced Bill with Keenan.

VERY scarily, Kristen did not annoy me tonight! **thud**

LOVED the Macy's Day Parade!!

[absnow54]

I went in expecting to actively dislike this episode since I'm not a fan of Kristen on SNL, and usually find her characters to be obnoxious and over the top. It's probably one of the weaker episodes this season, but I didn't hate it, so my low expectations were exceeded. But at this point, for me, any time Kristen walks into 8H and Garth & Kat don't appear, I'm ready to hand out Emmy's and $100 bills to the cast and crew.

[VCRTracking]

Nice to see Sudeikis and Forte back especially with the former as Mitt Romney again.

The Secret Word sketch wasn't bad. Kenan's explanation of why he replaced Hader's host and Cecily as the Italian movie star were my favorites.

Having watched Westworld for weeks I appreciated the ending of the CNN sketch.

I enjoyed the QVC sketch and the competition between Cecily and Kristen and Bobby and Beck as their hapless closeted husbands.

The Thanksgiving Parade sketch was my favorite. Kristen as the smiling Madeline balloon was freaky enough Bobby as the nightmarish clown popped up I was terrifying.

Loved that they did a "Whiskers R We" sketch with Kristen I knew Kate would break.

I admit to liking seeing Sue "who loves surprise parties". She's one of the Wiig characters I actually like. I laughed when it looked like she swallowed a pillow.

Edited November 20, 2016 by VCRTracking

[Mumbles]

10 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

 

I can never fault Kristen Wiig for her committment. She always goes 100% into anything she plays, no mater how stupid or minor the role is. It's just that to me, she gives off this aura that she sucks in all the energy in the room to her, and damn if anyone else gets in her way. She comes off as SNL's Poochie, in which whenever she's not onscreen everyone seems to want to ask "Where's Kristen?"

 

Yeah there's a line between commitment and scenery-chewing and she almost always tips on the wrong side of the line. Bill Hader is my favorite example of the former - always gave it 100%, improved every sketch he was in, but never hogged the spotlight.

I thought the opening sketch was to kind to Kellyanne Conway. I think she's as pleased as punch with what she's done.

Loved the bubble and the CNN/Westworld sketch. And even liked Secret Word. Esp Cecily's standard Italian bombshell actress who seemed to be trying to ride Sophia Loren's coattails back in the early 1960s.

[Primetimer]

Less pointed Trump humor, more jokes about gravy boats and killing time at Target.

View the full article

[saber5055]

Another singing opening monologue. *sigh* And after such a great one last week with Chapelle. I hate the Sue character, wish they had stuffed her in another room. Even her stuffing the pillow wasn't funny. I did like the Whiskers sketch, but only because Kate is the best and Kristen didn't go OTT like she does in everything else.

[potatoradio]

My faves were the open, WU, the parade and the bubble. The political humor was tight and on point and nuanced. And, as shown from the Tweet above, it made Donnie whine and hurt his wittle ego. If the humor keeps on this path, this show might keep me a little more sane over the next few years. 

And the bubble was so spot on I cringed the whole time, even as I laughed. That's what the best of comedy can do, I think.

My laughs were a little gallows humor, but I needed it. I hope they continue with the well done political humor.

[teebax]

I wish the writers would stop using gay male characters as punch lines. It's lazy and offensive.

Other than that, I liked this episode. It's been a strong season for SNL.

[cpcathy]

I enjoyed this in a different way than last week's. The opening was spot on. You just KNOW Trump is googling ISIS.

Bobby is back in the swing of things! Loved his and Beck's looks to the camera during the QVC sketch, it made the sketch for me. And Cecily does unhinged so well, like the dog food sketch some time back. WU was strong! Keep it up, guys!

And anytime we get Sudeikis and Forte I am thrilled to bits. Sudeikis is looking all kinds of sexy, even my husband mentioned he thought he'd lost weight.

[Dev F]

4 hours ago, Inquisitionist said:

Did that little boy in the Macy's parade sketch also play young James Corden in the Tony's opening sketch?  (Go to the 2:20 mark in the video) 

It looks like it could be, doesn't it? I recognized him from an earlier SNL appearance -- as the kid in last season's Star Wars toy commercial whom Kyle Mooney's character makes fun of for talking about "Doug Vader."

[Irlandesa]

2 hours ago, punkypower said:

Word up to bb68...HOW did we not get a ESPN Classic sketch with both Jason and Will there?!?!

Or an assholes sketch?  I would think that would work with the new administration. 

I watched on DVR so I'm grateful to those who do rundowns of the sketches otherwise I would have missed the Bubble and Target bits.  I didn't love the Bubble--mostly because I want it.  But I did love the Target bit.

[Fostersmom]

1 minute ago, cpcathy said:

And anytime we get Sudeikis and Forte I am thrilled to bits. Sudeikis is looking all kinds of sexy, even my husband mentioned he thought he'd lost weight.

I watched the cold open last night and then changed the channel so I could fast forward most of the annoying Kristen parts. I'm just watching it now, but I noticed last night and again on my rewatch Jason was looking damn hot as Romney. He did  look a bit sleeker. 

[Peace 47]

I just watched straight through the clips from last night's show that were up on the SNL app, since I did not see the show live.  I really enjoyed it.  The Target and Bubble pre-taped sketches were both enjoyable.  The Secret Word was pretty entertaining because even though it is the same joke every time, I did get a kick out of her misreading "Floral" and Cecily's temperamental Italian film star.  I liked the "Dwayne 'The Scissors' Johnson" joke on Update, and how proud Michael was of it.  And I was so happy not to see Gilly or Garth and Kat, which are two of my "Do not pass go; do not continue watching" sketches.

Y'all need to watch the cut for time Thanksgiving sketch that is up on the app if you haven't already.  It's pretty good and could have replaced the "Sue" sketch.  "Birth control pills painted green because she doesn't like peas and wants to hide them from Trump" -- nicely cutting.

[cpcathy]

Thanks! Just uploaded the app last week!

[peeayebee]

I thought this ep was really funny. 

The Cold Open was great. Trump making promises he can't keep and being ignorant about so so much was good to see portrayed. Of course Alec was great. I loved the bit with the general coming in to find out what secret Trump has for defeating ISIS. Romney and Trump shaking hands forever and agreeing that this wasn't going to work was good. I also loved each time Kellyanne came in with some negative comment, like dusting off her shoulders from 'all this.'

I enjoyed the monologue too. I know many people hate singing monologues, but I liked the goofiness of the song and everyone dressed in costume. The best was Nina, Pinta, Santa, and Maria, with a grinning Leslie leaning into the frame. Loved seeing Steve Martin and all the rest.

Loved The Bubble. Kyle and Sassier were great in this. The whole thing was well done. 

I even liked Secret Word. I'd gotten tired of it in the past, but I decided to watch this with fresh eyes, and it was pretty good. Oh, one thing I noticed was that Cecily wasn't very funny. The audience didn't seem to think so either.

I don't watch Anderson Cooper 360. Does the panel discussion always end with them all laughing? Anyway, I liked this a lot. David alexrod eating while being introduced was great. Loved Kristin correcting Cooper's pronunciation of her name -- "It's Dana, for some reason." -- and then the Trump supporter saying, "I'm smug to be here." The whole sketch was a good commentary on how the media goes in circles and doesn't really confront the issues.

I liked the Target ad, though the Targets around here rarely have empty parking lots.

Loved QVC Audition Reels. Both Cecily and Kristin were really funny, and Beck and Bobby were great. 

I didn't get much out of WU, and for once I didn't enjoy Willie.

Loved the Macy's Parade sketch.

Whiskers R We was hilarious. Lots of great lines, and Kristin and Kate had a wonderful chemistry.

Surprise Sue was fun too. Like Leslie, I was cracking up when Sue walked around with her 'locked legs.' 

So, I really don't have any big complaints. I thought it was very funny. Oh, is Grant Choad an anagram? Does it mean anything to anyone?

[cpcathy]

I'm tired of Willie. What happened to Drunk Uncle? 

Also liked the cut sketch much better than Surprised Sue. How do they not understand what to cut and what to keep?

[Sesquipedalia]

The portrayal of Kellyanne Conway is way too sympathetic in my opinion. She's a smart person who knows she's bald-faced lying to the American people. She's straight-up evil in my view.

I was surprised to see Alec Baldwin back as Trump! I thought he quit. Without him I was worried the sharpness of the political commentary would diminish. I hope this means he'll be back fairly regularly. The way his portrayal gets under Trump's skin will hopefully serve as a motivator for him to keep doing it.

I only watched the cold open, but they just posted a lot of the skits on YouTube, so based on the commentary here Ima go watch.

[Fostersmom]

I'm not sure this is the right place to post this to not, but I'm feeling like this response by Trump and then Baldwin might just ensure we see a lot more of Alec's Trump in the future. 

[mtlchick]

I'm still not a fan of Wiig.  Granted she will do anything for a laugh no matter how stupid but...sometimes a little goes a long way.  She has yet to master it.  That said I did snicker through Whiskers R We. 

Also, shout out the cats and chihuahua!  

[omophagia]

I always enjoyed the Two A-Holes sketches because they're pretty much the only time Wiig underplayed a character instead of doing her usual brand of self-conscious mugging.

I'll own up to the fact that I liked the original Surprise Sue sketch during a Christopher Walken episode; it seemed like such an obvious one-off that I was disappointed when she became yet another recurring character.

Whiskers R We was a riot; I lost it at "gaslighting," and losing track of time in the bunker. McKinnon's affect in those sketches makes it one of my favorites of hers.

[bmoore4026]

What can I say about this episode but KITTIES!!! :D