S42.E12: Aziz Ansari / Big Sean

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

Hosted by Aziz Ansari, with musical guest Big Sean

[abstractstuff]

Another show of.. White people are evil, and here is some crap ass music..  

Yep.. Little baby bitch boy.. Wow

Edited January 22, 2017 by abstractstuff

[Galileo908]

Aziz! I'm pumped.

Cold Open: We open with Putin! This was great, but in a scary way. And Olyah OUTSIDE of Update?! What has this world come to?!

Monologue: Aziz! He was great, as I expected.

Beat The Bookworm: Getting Win Ben Stein's Money vibes here. That's a good thing, especially since he panicked over the 90s Pop Culture category. That was great. I just love Aziz's whiny voice. 

Interrogation: I can tell the La La Land twist was Aziz's idea. Really liked this. I haven't seen La La Land, but it's a good observation over popular movies (and shows, like Kenan getting interrogated over not liking Westworld).

The Lead: Kellyann Conway is back. Now this was a much better take on her than how they've been handling her before. Yeah, Broadway wannabe who just realized how much power she now has is better than Stockholm Syndrome Kellyann.

Broderick & Ganz: Angry Aziz is also great. And Kate and Bobby together in one sketch are always great. 

WU: I know I heard the Lincoln Memorial joke quite a few times yesterday, but still liked hearing it here. And SNL got the scoop on the Sean Spicer crap! Well, hours after Twitter already tore him apart, but the show really lucked out today. Leslie Jones and her flirting with Colin were surely needed tonight. Really liked the Friend Zone Guy. Hoo boy, I think we've all been there at some point in our lives, right? Right?

Dirty Talk: This was fun, if awkward (even if that was the point). 

Five Stars: This was a slow burn, but man was that a good payoff. I think I laughed a little too hard at Aziz getyting hit by the car.

Pizzatown: This sketch was very reminiscent of Space Pants and David S. Pumpkins, I wouldn't be surprised if this was written by the same people. Bobby looked so much like the Pizza Guy from the Chuck E. Cheese band it was scary. And of course, Kenan was the best part.

Thank You President Obama: Odd that this kind of tribute was saved for the end.

I might be biased in favor of Aziz Ansari, but I really enjoyed this one. Not the best ever, and it died down after Update, but I still liked it. The show returns February 4th with...Kristen Stewart. I expect at least ONE Twilight sketch.

Edited January 22, 2017 by Galileo908

[Brn2bwild]

Was there any mention of the Women's marches in the episode?

[ebk57]

Kate doing Roxie Hart was the highlight of the show for me.  I liked the cold open.  The monologue was good in spots.  WU was good in spots.  I always love Leslie. Loved Che telling Colin he kept his cousin from robbing him.   And yeah, I teared up at the end during To Sir With Love.  The mug was wonderful.

Otherwise, not much worked for me.  I'm a little disappointed.
 

[Bruinsfan]

Yes, they talked about it a good bit on WU.

Huge improvement over last week. I liked pretty much everything, although the Kelleyann Conway number (knocked it out of the park, Kate!) and Five Stars were the only skits I really loved. Tribute to Obama at the end was nice, but Cicely was having a lot more trouble with the song than I expected. They should have Sasheer sing every week though, her voice is beautiful.

[ebk57]

3 minutes ago, Brn2bwild said:

Was there any mention of the Women's marches in the episode?

Che did the story during WU.  And Kate as Olyah was wearing a pussy hat while standing outside the window.

[Mumbles]

I am not a huge Aziz Ansari but I thought this was a great episode. The joke about "scary Middle East music" in the monologue is still making me laugh thinking of it.

The Bookworm def had a Ben Stein vibe as well as an old Comedy Central show called "Beat the Geeks."

The La La Land interrogation had a nice Pythonesque absurdist feel that I loved.

As for To Sir With Love...I think Cecily and Sasheer have lovely singing voices. And I greatly admire and respect (and miss!) President Obama. I just get a little uncomfortable when we hero-worship elected leaders - even ones I support. (I was similarly uncomfortable with the Hillary Clinton "Hallelujah" thing too.) That shouldn't be our relationship with elected officials. 

Edited January 22, 2017 by Mumbles

[vb68]

Ok, I'm just giddy thinking that Trump could had stayed up to see that last sketch with Cecily and Sasheer singing to "To Sir With Love" to Obama. It was so bold in the sense that it was right in the face of the critics who always complain the show is too liberal.  I loved it.

I quite enjoyed the show. Aziz was great.   He made everything better, and he is so good at what he does that he makes it seem effortless. He can come back anytime as far as I'm concerned.

The Conway bit was a stroke of genius, and once again Update was on fire. It was just so on point. So glad they nailed Sean Spicer for that stunt this afternoon.  And Leslie had one of her best pieces yet.  It wasn't even about dating. Yes, Che, It was about Hidden Figures.

Melissa had a goodnight too. Though I thought she laughed/smiled too much in the bedroom sketch, especially as she knew it was working from the crowd.

Didn't pay attention to Big Sean, but I was half expecting someone to turn up as Naya Rivera fuming and causing a scene. Heh.

Good show.

Edited January 22, 2017 by vb68

[Ms Blue Jay]

Aziz was fantastic.  Fantastic.  His monologue was great; he exceeded my expectations.  I forgot what a great comic actor he is, but out of like a million comedians on Parks and Recreation, I maintain he was the one who had the best and funniest delivery.

The Friendzone skit was sexist bullshit, and Che trying to 'comment' on feminism was so meandering and pointless (???) but the rest was great.  Good for Aziz, I'm happy for him, and I thank him for putting on such a great show.

The La La Land sketch was so smart.

[helenamonster]

I really liked to Cold Open. Since Alec Baldwin probably can't (and/or won't) stop by every week, it's nice (and by nice I mean terrifying) that there are so many other "characters" around Donnie that the show can play on. It was nice to see Olya outside of Update too, and wearing a Pussy hat no less!

Aziz's monologue was excellent, and I like his style of stand-up. I liked his whole riff on the "lowercase kkk" and the "scary Homeland music" had me laughing out loud.

The cop sketch about La La Land was an excellent metaphor about how people talk to each other about pop culture (and I'm self aware enough to know that I've been all of the people in this sketch at some point).

The Kellyanne Conway bit was inspired. Chicago is one of my favorite movies and I'm glad they're finally not letting her off the hook anymore. The level of attention she's getting now is exactly what she wants. She'll sell Donnie down the river if it'll help her keep the spotlight, just watch.

Broderick and Ganz was good too. I like any excuse for Kate to use her Edie Falco/Long Island Medium voice, and it was a clever premise. "He then tried to get me to lend him $5000 of the $6000 I won, then locked himself in the bathroom and claimed squatters rights. I had to hire another lawyer to evict him and I'm drowning in debt!"

Weekend Update was on fire EXCEPT...why, after all these years, has no one explained feminism to Michael Che? He's going on about how treating women equally should be common sense and it's like, yeah that's the problem dude. It should be common sense but the fact that it's not is why 2.5 million people around the world got together today to march about it. That's why we're mad! Remove your head from your ass for like two damn seconds, please! I will admit I liked his "oh there are levels to this!" and when they kept cutting back to that picture of Michelle Obama. "Hmm." Leslie was awesome and the friend zone bit went in a different (and better) direction than I was anticipating. I liked that Mikey was portrayed as a mopey do-nothing instead of a fedoraed white knight of red pill justice or whatever the MRAs are calling themselves these days.

I thought Melissa did well with her first real spotlight she's had this season in the dirty talk sketch.

Five Stars took me back to Uber For Jen with Elizabeth Banks, which I also really enjoyed.

Aziz was a great host and even when the show hit bits that weren't working for me, there were enough genuine laugh-out-loud moments for me to really enjoy the whole thing overall.

[Ms Blue Jay]

18 minutes ago, ebk57 said:

Che did the story during WU.  And Kate as Olyah was wearing a pussy hat while standing outside the window.

Sasheer, Aidy, Vanessa wore Women's March shirts for the goodbye.

[Bees]

Cold Opening: Yeah I came into this slightly late. I did like the brief appearance in there of Olya putting on the hat. 

Monologue: I really liked the monologue and I liked how Aziz was fair to Trump voters. Most people want to quickly demonize everybody who voted for Trump but he has an understanding at least that not everybody who voted for Trump was a sexist or racist or anything else like that. And I think that's good to know. 

Beat the Bookworm: What's with them doing these Game Show sketches that only go like one round and then always cut off before the final round? This was alright. Nothing too special, IMO. 

Interrogation: I haven't seen either movie (though I did like the reaction of the cops about Moonlight then admitting that they hadn't even seen it yet...I know a lot of self-righteous folks like that). Though if you had replaced any of those movies with Beyonce, then I'd be interrogated so hard even if Lemonade has a couple of decent songs on it. 

Kellyanne Does Roxie Hart: I'm a sucker for these kind of musical numbers. Man it's been very musical heavy hasn't it? Is Aziz like a secret fan of musicals or something? Anyways, I really liked this. 

Broderick & Ganz: Aziz is at his best when he's annoyed and ranting and he really brings it here. Also, nice to see Bobby Moynihan here. He's one of my favorites and I've been missing him lately.

Weekend Update: Ohhh boy, Che is going to piss of a LOT of feminists if he hasn't already. He has a few decent points but overall, he was pretty far off. This was an enjoyable Update. I liked seeing Leslie Jones and her shamelessly hitting on Colin Jost. And I liked the Friend Zone thing since I totally get it and understand it, having been in that unrequited love situation quite a few times (yes it happens to women too, it's not really a that gendered of a thing to be honest) though I'm not a fan of the "she likes guys who treat her like crap" thing. That's an old tired stereotype. I would've preferred him saying that she has a really awesome boyfriend that he just can't compete with and doesn't really want to compete with. A more honest kind of Friend Zone, you know?

Dirty Talk: I didn't think this was going to be funny at first but then things went down the dark and weird road and I found myself cracking up at some of the stuff. Also, nice way for Melissa to display a couple of her impressions too. 

Five Stars: This was pretty good but I was wondering what on earth was this leading up to. I was not expecting the end. Also Russian trance music was pretty funny.

Pizzatown: Was this written by Mikey Day? I feel like this was written by Mikey Day. It's got the Space Pants/David S. Pumpkins feel to it.  I really liked how Kenan was really enjoying it and it looks like he was trying to find a way to not crack up. 

Thanks, Obama: Cecily usually sounds great and has a lovely voice but man she sounded off tonight. Sasheer was much better. Rather I'm sure some folks may be like "Liberal Bias!1" but I think of it more as a sweet sendoff to a decent dude. 

 

I liked this episode. Had a few clunkers, but Aziz was great at hosting and I'd love to see him host again.

Edited January 22, 2017 by Bees

[Ms Blue Jay]

4 minutes ago, Bees said:

I liked this episode. Had a few clunkers, but Aziz was great at hosting and I'd love to see him host again.

I now find it weird that Aziz hasn't been hosting regularly since Parks and Recreation started.

[vb68]

Quote

I now find it weird that Aziz hasn't been hosting regularly since Parks and Recreation started.

Yeah, I can't believe this was his first time. He proved to be such a natural, too.  I hope he's the next Melissa McCarthy, who keeps coming back. 

[Adultosaurus]

Second week of too much Beck

[DrScottie]

1 hour ago, Adultosaurus said:

Second week of too much Beck

With him being Putin, I suspect that's going to continue for a long time. 

[pennben]

2 hours ago, Mumbles said:

As for To Sir With Love...I think Cecily and Sasheer have lovely singing voices. And I greatly admire and respect (and miss!) President Obama. I just get a little uncomfortable when we hero-worship elected leaders - even ones I support. (I was similarly uncomfortable with the Hillary Clinton "Hallelujah" thing too.) That shouldn't be our relationship with elected officials. 

Agreed (in part:)).  I was incredibly uncomfortable during this tribute song, it just did not work for me, at all; even though I thought McKinnon's Hallelujah was perfect for the moment in November.

I found Hallelujah by McKinnon to be less about Hillary and more just about comfort to a lot of folks still shell-shocked from the election results.  That one felt more like a moment of 'we're still in this together, we're gonna be okay, let's keep working'.  

Tonight just felt like an embarrassing schoolgirl crush exposed on national television.

Edited January 22, 2017 by pennben

[possibilities]

I noticed the roles were more evenly distributed throughout the cast this week, actually, though I did feel a little Beck overload. I wanted to know how they decided who would be in bed with Aziz.

"Conway" was brilliant and Kate is truly everything. The only problem I have with the roles being spread around the cast more equally is that I get to see less of Kate.

RE the monologue, parts of it were just what I needed to hear, and it boosted my mood out of a stuck place after a stupendously annoying conversation I'd had with someone about current events-- except that I don't share Aziz's optimism ("we'll be fine"-- tell it to people who aren't fine, and it feels dismissive, not encouraging). But I loved where he told Trump to write a speech condemning racism, instead of tweeting about Aziz/SNL being "lame." Much better use of the bully pulpit, and might as well speak directly to him since he watches the show.

It's weird to say this, but I liked Aziz calling out the rise in hate crimes-- that shouldn't be necessary or controversial to do, but I liked it anyway. Aziz is good at what he does; he can write serious stuff and be funny, but he seemed more direct than usual, which I appreciated. ("They're not usually geography buffs" was the line of the night)

The interrogation of movie dissent was great, also. I was hoping he'd say he liked Moonlight, so when he did it, I was especially gratified. Also enjoyed Leslie's history lesson. I really have been wondering why the hell I didn't know about the NASA women before, and it seriously pisses me off.

Che's "why does equality need a special word?" stuff was so stupid, I honestly don't understand why someone didn't take him aside during editing and explain it to him. Maybe he has no friends. Maybe in fact he has a lot of enemies and they wanted to hang him out to dry in public, like how when someone such an asshole that you want everyone to see it for themselves so you don't have to be alone with it anymore.

There was a game show where people were playing in teams against one guy who supposedly knew more than anyone else-- I forget the name of the show but I remember the way the guy looked and sounded and I really thought they were referencing that particular show in the "Beat the Bookworm" sketch. I didn't even know there were other similar shows, til I read about them in this forum. I guess it's A Thing.

PizzaTown reminded me of the sketch where they had spooky robots on a Disney boat ride or something.* I thought combining it with the stuff about someone arresting the snitched-on guy was strange. I kept waiting for the two ideas to come together, but they never did. ** It's like they had two half-sketches and instead of finishing writing them both, they just fused them together without a reason. I didn't exactly mind, but I am fairly tolerant of weird things on SNL. It's just that it seemed less weird on purpose, and more "let's just mash em together because I'm tired of writing and we're on a deadline" weird more than the usual weird as a choice kind of thing they sometimes do.

[* I went on the "it's a small world" ride at Disney World a bunch of times as a kid, but I don't think the boat sketch was directly copying that one, though maybe it was referencing it. I can't remember the details, only that the sketch was creepy to me when I saw it, but not any of the specifics.]

[**Like: Was one of the robots the snitch? Was the crime something like ordering 500 anchovy pizzas and not paying? Were the guns loaded with cheese?]

If we give the episode 3.9 stars, will they try harder next time?

I really liked Aziz as host. I think he made the show rely less on gross-out and fratty humor.

And hey-- how many jokes do we get to see that are based on Steinbeck?

[Spartan Girl]

Why do they have to always show Putin shirtless?

Aziz freaking killed the monologue. And as someone who despises the ground that Kellyanne Conway walks on, especially after seeing her wear that stupid outfit at the Inauguration, the Conway skit was theraputic.

[Tardislass]

I thought this was slightly better then previous shows if only due to the opening monologue.

I believe Alec Baldwin is making a movie and won't be available every week but I did like the Putin cold open. They roasted Trump and Conway and also Sean Spicer. But then I love every sketch with Kate McKinnon.

The opening monologue from Aziz was pretty much spot on-though I do take exception that the majority of Trump voters aren't racist or xenophobic. But it was a nice stronger together monologue and it was so true about the way the show Muslims-especially praying with that music. Always reminds me of the old way a gong was sounded overtime an  Asian was shown in the movies. 

My other favorite sketch was the Kellyanne Conway/Chicago musical. I've felt the show has sympathized Conway and finally they've shown more of her true colors-she'd sell out her mother to get on more TV shows. McKinnon is an amazing talent-gorgeous, musically inclined and whoever wrote that sketch must love musicals.

I also enjoyed the La La Land sketch if only because I was the only one not wowed by it.

I loved Obama's Last Christmas song but the tribute last night was not good. 

6 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Why do they have to always show Putin shirtless?

Aziz freaking killed the monologue. And as someone who despises the ground that Kellyanne Conway walks on, especially after seeing her wear that stupid outfit at the Inauguration, the Conway skit was theraputic.

It's probably so people recognize the character from the beginning. Also it's to mock him...

[wknt3]

I have never been a big fan of Aziz, but he did a great job tonight. He did what a host is supposed to do. He came up with a fantastic monologue and he committed to the material in the sketches. Not that any of it was really asking him to show a lot of range or do anything new, but he sold it.

[vb68]

Quote

It's probably so people recognize the character from the beginning. Also it's to mock him...

It's definitely to mock him.  Putin has famously been photographed without a shirt on because he's so "macho" and eh, vain.

[Princess Sparkle]

This episode made up for last weeks - I thought Aziz killed it. The monologue was fantastic, Five Stars made me lose my shit (I died at the dual massages), and Pizza Town was a cross between Space Pants and The Merryville brothers, and I mean that in the best way possible.  Plus, Bobby was in way more sketches than he has been recently, which is all the better for me  

The only sketch that didn't work for me that well was the dirty talk one. I think maybe I just don't Melissa very much. I can never understand what she's saying half the time (her lack of ennunciation kills me) and her famed Owen Wilson impression didnt do a whole lot for me - I couldn't even tell it was him until she said it. 

I am starting to wonder if a few people are going to be fired in between seasons, especially from the men. It's become glaringly obvious over the past few episodes that there are entire episodes that go by without a cast member appearing at all (last week was Bobby, this week was Alex and Pete, though Kyle only had about 2 lines in the sketch he was in). Either that or they should start giving some of Beck's everyman roles to some of the other guys. 

[Primetimer]

The Master of None comic got political, sexy, and silly in a winning turn.

View the full article

[absnow54]

8 hours ago, possibilities said:

I wanted to know how they decided who would be in bed with Aziz.

They picked whoever had the best Wanda Sykes impression.

I really like Aziz and his standup, so this was a pretty strong episode for me. I think I laughed at every sketch.

[Ms Blue Jay]

7 hours ago, Tardislass said:

I also enjoyed the La La Land sketch if only because I was the only one not wowed by it.

Have you ever checked Twitter?  You are far from being the only one.

Also, @Negritude, the reviews from both fans and critics of San Junipero have been so extremely glowing I had to check out the episode.  I thought it was great.  I don't mean to sound like the sketch.  I haven't checked out Shut up and Dance yet.

Edited January 22, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[Negritude]

Aziz comes from a sketch comedy background so I had high expectations that he would be a more than capable host.

I actually liked the dirty talk sketch but Melissa Villasenor is starting to come across as a one trick pony using that same voice and scrunched up facial expression. It did work in this sketch.

The Five Stars bit gets 3.9 from me only for saying "San Junipero" is the best episode... umm that's gonna be a big nope! Everybody knows Season 3 was the weakest so far and Shut Up and Dance was clearly the standout episode. Now I sound like the cops in the La La Land sketch.

[JZL]

Loved the show.  There were even some strong sketches in the final third, like the "dirty talk" one.

I thought the Conway sketch wasn't funny or relevant.  If she had done something specifically newsworthy to make fun of, like TheDonald does daily, then go for it, and I'm sure she will, but to whiz on her just for the sake of whizzing on her, eh, no.  I appreciated the Obama tribute at the end but I'm also bothered by the hero worship, and to a greater degree, the now complete abandonment of even an attempt at or appearance of neutrality. 

[goldenpuppy]

6 minutes ago, JZL said:

Loved the show.  There were even some strong sketches in the final third, like the "dirty talk" one.

I thought the Conway sketch wasn't funny or relevant.  If she had done something specifically newsworthy to make fun of, like TheDonald does daily, then go for it, and I'm sure she will, but to whiz on her just for the sake of whizzing on her, eh, no.  I appreciated the Obama tribute at the end but I'm also bothered by the hero worship, and to a greater degree, the now complete abandonment of even an attempt at or appearance of neutrality. 

Conway was just on every news show this morning talking about "alternative facts "!  The McKinnon skit is perfect since Conway is on constantly selling her soul for Trump! 

I liked the tribute ? But I agree about the hero worship .  The problem is , the alternative to Obama is so out there that it's hard not to feel like you are grieving  because he's gone . At least a lot of people feel that way. And it's hard to stay neutral when the president tweets and whines every week over comedy skits .

[Trick Question]

45 minutes ago, Negritude said:

I actually liked the dirty talk sketch but Melissa Villasenor is starting to come across as a one trick pony using that same voice and scrunched up facial expression. It did work in this sketch.

It's not really a trick, it's her actual voice.  She actually sounds 90% like Owen Wilson, which is why I didn't get her 'impression' until she actually said his name.

[Quickbeam]

Loved "Conway" and Pizzatown. Am old enough to remember the original so if you can't sing it as well as Lulu, don't cover " To Sir With Love". Plus I felt it was cloying. 

Otherwise meh show. 

[Mumbles]

Quote

  The McKinnon skit is perfect since Conway is on constantly selling her soul for Trump! 

What was great about the Roxie Hart/KellyAnne sketch was that I think this show has been WAY too kind to Conway up to now.  Before this, with the sketches with Baldwin, they have conveyed Conway post-election as numb and perhaps a bit regretful of her role in the election. KellyAnne Conway has no regrets and is extremely proud to be associated with Trump in real life, and finally this sketch showed that. 

My only quibble on the remark quoted above is that I'm not sure how much of a soul she has to sell.

[Traveller519]

I have a complex evaluation of this episode. On one hand, Aziz was fantastic. It really showed the strength of featuring a stan-up comic who has good sketch training. (note: Get Bob Odenkirk back to host!) 

On the other, the show was SO topical, it won't really stand the test of time. The Interrogation scene was great and we'll done, but it definitely wasn't timeless. And the Thanks, Obama bit really didn't fit, and I say this as someone who enjoyed the Southern Rock Jamboree to close out last season. I would have preferred more of the cast being involved, and offering unique takes (hopefully some comedic)

Weekend Update was on. After what felt like a down week for them they hit mostly across the board, though I think Che's feminism bit came together quickly at the last moment and it showed. That was the best Leslie segment since her first appearance.  She remained focused and hit some great points woth comedy. And I love Michael's little asides after her bits. The friend zone one didn't quite get where it needed to go, though. Especially last night. 

 

Come back soon Aziz!

[DXD526]

Che condescendingly mansplaining feminism to me was infuriating.

I loved the "To Sir With Love" tribute. The song is about growing to respect someone as a father figure, and Cecily and Sasheer portrayed that perfectly. I took it as a show of admiration and respect for Obama, not as gushing by a couple of fangirls. 

[SeanC]

The production values on "Conway" were great and Kate looked amazing, though at times I was wondering if the lyrics weren't changed up enough from the original.

[Mumbles]

As for Che, remember his joke about women's history month last March? "March is women's history month....and ladies, that cake isn't going to bake itself." 

I have never found his comedy to rise much higher than brick-wall hack stuff, and as head writer, Jost sitting next to him and approving this stuff isn't much better.

I have no idea why Cecily Strong got bumped for this hack. Unless she wanted off, of course.

Quote

The song is about growing to respect someone as a father figure,

Problem is, our presidents aren't meant to be father figures. That's stuff for dictatorships. There has been an alarming trend for people to project some sort of emotional needs of their own on this office. Hence poll questions like "Which candidate would you rather have a beer with?" which is a useless qualification.

Edited January 22, 2017 by Mumbles

[JZL]

2 hours ago, goldenpuppy said:

Conway was just on every news show this morning talking about "alternative facts "!  The McKinnon skit is perfect since Conway is on constantly selling her soul for Trump! 

I liked the tribute ? But I agree about the hero worship .  The problem is , the alternative to Obama is so out there that it's hard not to feel like you are grieving  because he's gone . At least a lot of people feel that way. And it's hard to stay neutral when the president tweets and whines every week over comedy skits .

See? It only took one day!  Now the problem is they're off til next Saturday, but she'll probably have actually done something else by then.  You don't make fun of people merely because you don't like them, you make fun of the stupid stuff that they say and do. 

My point about neutrality is that they have to be able go after anybody and everybody, with credibility.  When Kate needles Hillary for being late on the gay rights issue, a lot of the humor is that Kate's gay, she has credibility, and she has Clinton boxed in, and it's that much more funny when she keeps saying, "Coulda been sooner."  Plus it's about a specific issue.  By contrast, when Kate does a big song and dance number just trashing Conway in a generalized way, it comes off as petty.  The bit about Conway formerly supporting Cruz and trashing Trump at the time was good, but that was one line in a three minute bit. 

Edited January 22, 2017 by JZL

[TheOtherOne]

25 minutes ago, Mumbles said:

I have never found his comedy to rise much higher than brick-wall hack stuff, and as head writer, Jost sitting next to him and approving this stuff isn't much better.

 

 

Colin Jost is no longer one of the head writers, and hasn't been this season.

[ebk57]

1 hour ago, SeanC said:

The production values on "Conway" were great and Kate looked amazing, though at times I was wondering if the lyrics weren't changed up enough from the original.

That was the beauty of the original.  It took on media cynicism way back in the mid 70s.  So there didn't have to be too much lyric change IMO.

[VCRTracking]

1 hour ago, Mumbles said:

I have no idea why Cecily Strong got bumped for this hack. Unless she wanted off, of course.

She did an interview:

http://www.cinemablend.com/television/How-Cecily-Strong-Felt-About-Exiting-Weekend-Update-71973.html
 

Quote

 

Quote

The song is about growing to respect someone as a father figure,

Problem is, our presidents aren't meant to be father figures. That's stuff for dictatorships. There has been an alarming trend for people to project some sort of emotional needs of their own on this office. Hence poll questions like "Which candidate would you rather have a beer with?" which is a useless qualification.

 

The song is sung in the movie about a teacher who was a handsome, articulate, decent black man(Sidney Poitier) who espoused being respectful to others and behaved with dignity and that's why they specifically used it, because it's easy to make that comparison with Obama. Whatever you may think of his policies or his actual accomplishments, there's a class he brought to the office that I'm going to miss.

Edited January 22, 2017 by VCRTracking

[ruby24]

I loved the To Sir, With Love tribute. Made me tear up. Could have been sung better though.

[SomeTameGazelle]

Quote

Che condescendingly mansplaining feminism to me was infuriating.

I don't think that anyone who understands feminism was who he was making the case to. However if Che's character had been consistently presented as "not a dick" all along it would have been a better bit. If he had admitted that he doesn't always live up to treating women with respect in his jokes and tweets, it would have been a more credible bit. 

[ratgirlagogo]

15 hours ago, pennben said:

17 hours ago, Mumbles said:

As for To Sir With Love...I think Cecily and Sasheer have lovely singing voices. And I greatly admire and respect (and miss!) President Obama. I just get a little uncomfortable when we hero-worship elected leaders - even ones I support. (I was similarly uncomfortable with the Hillary Clinton "Hallelujah" thing too.) That shouldn't be our relationship with elected officials. 

Agreed (in part:)).  I was incredibly uncomfortable during this tribute song, it just did not work for me, at all; even though I thought McKinnon's Hallelujah was perfect for the moment in November.

I found Hallelujah by McKinnon to be less about Hillary and more just about comfort to a lot of folks still shell-shocked from the election results.  That one felt more like a moment of 'we're still in this together, we're gonna be okay, let's keep working'.  

Tonight just felt like an embarrassing schoolgirl crush exposed on national television.

Cecily may have a lovely singing voice but it was not in evidence when she sang this song - she was off-key.  This whole bit seemed weird as hell to me - weirdest of all that they were doing this song from a fifty-year old movie that I know because it was a hit when I was in grade school - I'm shocked that any of the cast even knew the song, or the movie, since this show seems pretty focused on trying as hard as they can to be super-current. 

 

1 hour ago, VCRTracking said:

The song is sung in the movie about a teacher who was a handsome, articulate, decent black man(Sidney Poitier) who espoused being respectful to others and behaved with dignity and that's why they specifically used it, because it's easy to make that comparison with Obama

A handsome articulate decent black man who brings a touch of class to his white British-slumdweller high school students.   And the song is sung by a girl who's Hot For Teacher - "how do you thank someone who has taken you from crayons to perfume?"  I do understand what they were trying to do but I was cringing.

Edited January 22, 2017 by ratgirlagogo

[Irlandesa]

Michael Che can annoy me so I was prepared for the worst but I wasn't as bothered by what he said in Weekend Update as I have been by things he has said in the past.  In fact, I might not have even noticed it had it not been for the talk here. Leslie's segment was the best, though. I especially got a kick out of her Timeless plug.  If you follow her on Twitter, you know she's really into that show.  And Lethal Weapon.

Aziz was great.  I never liked him much on Parks and Rec (probably because of his character) but have really come to appreciate his own work. I didn't take his "everything is going to be all right" as an attempt to reassure but rather he said it in relation to sticking together and fighting.

I get the emotions behind To Sir With Love but I do agree that it just didn't quite work for me.  Perhaps the spirit behind the song choice was more appropriate than Hallelujah, which I believe is about drug use.  But at least with Hallelujah, the lyrics allow for a varied interpretation.  To Sir With Love has lyrics that are pretty specific. And the photo of Obama behind them was a bit on point.  But maybe that was kind of the point.  It's the kind of thing I don't think Obama has ever asked for or given the impression of expecting.  But Trump?  Oh yeah, he wants this and I think he'd be irrirtated to see it given to his predecessor.

On 1/22/2017 at 2:53 PM, JZL said:

Plus it's about a specific issue.  By contrast, when Kate does a big song and dance number just trashing Conway in a generalized way, it comes off as petty.  The bit about Conway formerly supporting Cruz and trashing Trump at the time was good, but that was one line in a three minute bit.

Very specific topical things appear in the first sketch and Weekend Update.  More abstract critiques can happen elsewhere.  I think Roxie Hart is a bit more abstract but actually on point if one thinks about what happened with Roxie Hart in Chicago.

On 1/22/2017 at 10:09 AM, Princess Sparkle said:

this week was Alex and Pete

Pete showed up briefly in the lawyer sketch.

Edited January 24, 2017 by Irlandesa

[JZL]

Just to be clear, I hate Trump, don't care for Conway, and think Kate McKinnon is one of the best things to happen to SNL in over 15 years.  

I'm sorry to disagree about the Conway number.  People have described it as inspired, genius, therapeutic, the highlight of the show, an abstract critique-- but I don't think a single person here has said it was "funny," let alone why.  Because it wasn't.  I doubt that was even the purpose of it.  Thus, in my opinion, it should have been spiked. 

Heck, I guess I'll go watch it again, maybe I missed something.

Edited January 23, 2017 by JZL

[theatremouse]

I thought it was hilarious. McKinnon's version of her speaking voice, to me, is accurate enough to clearly sound like her, but also exacerbates aspects of it to make her sound even more obnoxious than she does in real life. To me, that's basically the definition of a good comedic impression and just listening to her talk in any of the Conway sketches they've done is funny as long as she's nailing that aspect of it. So, points there.

For the song in particular,, it was a nearly perfect way to explain Conway's behaviour. The comparison to Roxie, to me, is spot on and thus makes the whole thing hilarious. Not just in a "huh, that's clever" way. Part of what makes it work for me is that as soon as it started my immediate reaction was why did I never think of this before. Also Kate McKinnon's facial expressions are hilarious, and juxtaposed with the style of the number (which mostly stays in the same vein of the song in the movie version), makes it more funny to me.

Perhaps, as someone else suggested, if more of the lyrics had been rewritten to be more Conway-specific it could've been more funny. More specific is more funny. It also would've been more surprising, and more surprising is generally more funny. But I also think there's merit in that fact that they realized some of the actual lyrics just plain fit anyway, so they left some and rewrote some. It's tricky balance, but it worked enough for me. I laughed out loud more than once. 

Edited January 23, 2017 by theatremouse

[DaBigDave]

During "To Sir With Love" - I kept waiting for the turn, where this was gonna become funny. It never came. I kept thinking they would have been better off doing something with Joe Biden instead. Funny never came. It was treacly, and not what the show is for.

The only real virtue lies in knowing that it's the sort of tribute that Trump himself desperately craves, and it mush make him angry that Obama gets love he doesn't. But I didn't need to sit through that.

[vb68]

Quote

The only real virtue lies in knowing that it's the sort of tribute that Trump himself desperately craves, and it mush make him angry that Obama gets love he doesn't.

I think that might have been the overarching point of it.  They had to know they were going to get a lot of pushback on it.

[mtlchick]

I think the real funny moment is saying Kristin Stewart is hosting.  That is going to be January Jones level of hilarity!  (Wait, that's happening? Oops.)

Not sure how I feel about the To Sir With Love...it's clear the show respected him, questionable picks to play him aside (Fred? No.  The Rock Obama?  Hee!)  But I sort of felt that it was a bit too much.  

 

Aziz did a pretty solid job.  Not stellar as sometimes I find him a tad bit smug (though I do think he's funny.)  

Leslie's WU bit was awesome but Colin is provolone?  I would say he's a bit more of a Gouda.