S43.E02: Gal Gadot / Sam Smith

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

The show is hosted by Gal Gadot, and Sam Smith is the musical guest.

[vb68]

They have to do a little a bit more than put Tom Petty on a bumper, right?

I mean he was the musical guest a ton of times-- Counting them all up I think-- 1979, '83,'89,'91,'94.'96,'99, and 2010. I hope that's right.  It's definitely Friend of the Show status.

I hope they play a full performance like they did for Roy Orbison years ago, but I doubt it.  He'll probably get the Bowie treatment of Fred sharing a memory.
 

Edited October 3, 2017 by vb68

[Eucrid]

I could see them do a full song. I hope they do.

[ktwo]

Sam Smith could sing "Stay With Me," which is an exact copy of "I Won't Back Down."

[VCRTracking]

Oh I'm excited!

[Spartan Girl]

Please let them do Wonder Woman skit...

[VCRTracking]

[vb68]

Gadot does seem pretty adorable.

Maybe another John Goodman cameo as Rex Tillerson? 

[DollEyes]

On 10/4/2017 at 5:29 PM, Spartan Girl said:

Please let them do Wonder Woman skit...

Even better if the WW skit involves her using the Golden Lasso either on Alec Baldwin's Trump, Melania, Don Jr. & Eric or several members of the Cabinet, including Ivanka, Jeff Sessions and especially Rex Tillerson. 

[Spartan Girl]

5 hours ago, DollEyes said:

Even better if the WW skit involves her using the Golden Lasso either on Alec Baldwin's Trump, Melania, Don Jr. & Eric or several members of the Cabinet, including Ivanka, Jeff Sessions and especially Rex Tillerson. 

Or...she could could go No-Man's Land on all of them. ;)

Edited October 7, 2017 by Spartan Girl

[Galileo908]

All right, I spent the last 3 days at New York Comic Con so I'm kind of out of it, but let's roll.

Cold Open: A somber tribute to both Las Vegas and Tom Petty. It's weird that it seems like it happened forever ago (won't get political as to WHY), but it was good to see it here.

Monologue: Heh, didn't know this is being broadcast in Israel for the first time. (In every sketch, they have me eating hummus). Wonder Woman count currently at 2. Leslie Jones of course was Wonder Woman...the Times Square version. 

E!: Everything about this was great. I don't watch, well, any of this but this nails how vapid those dumb reality shows are (and how often they get aired on E!). I'd actually watch Kendall's Word.

Restaurant: I knew this was gonna be a sketch about OJ the second I saw Kenan. This was fun. "For some reason, they gave me a plastic fork." 

The Chosen One: Pete Davidson sighting! The image of Kenan as a centaur is just so silly, I love it. This is exactly how I pictured Pete to act like if he actually went to a fantasy world. 

Mirage: I'm like Beck when it comes to Jamba Juice. I wouldn't want to deal with that while dying in the desert. And yeah, here's an excuse to make Gal Gadot sexy (but I loved how they balanced it all out with the Jamba Juice guy).

Safelite: Taking this dumb ad down a peg was sorely needed.

WU: "If you own more than six dildos, it's a clear sign you're training for something awful." These guys are NOT pulling any punches this week, and I thank them for it. Good to see Kate as Notorious RBG again. Loved Pete being deep and honest about his BPD and making it hilarious at the same time. Yeah, he's depressed, but he'd feel much better if he was in more sketches.

The Maiden & The Mice: Oh, it's a variant of the pervert elves sketch. But with Cinderella. Loved the twist at the end. The Prince asking the mice to go to the dance? Gold.

Spies: This was fun. I love how well Cecily and Aidy can pull off being hilariously trashy.

Wonder Woman: "Why was a Wonder Woman sketch after Update and ohhh that's why." While I hope that this was a WW Meets Dyke & Fats sketch, it was just full of tired lesbian jokes. And then Kate got to make out with Gal Gadot and made everyone jealous. Everyone.

Naomi:  An interesting turn on those dumb morning shows with the drill sergeant coming to straighten up troubled teens. 

So this was...okay. Next week is Kumail and should be much, much better.

[TheGreenKnight]

I thought this episode was much stronger than the premiere. The Wonder Woman and Chosen One sketches were the only ones I'd put on the weaker side and even those weren't that bad. Both Gadot and Gosling last week had blink-and-you'll-miss-them monologues that were pretty forced. Hopefully the host for next week delivers there. Pete Davidson during WU was hilarious; I've always wondered why he isn't on the show more?

Sam Smith did a good job, too, and I'm looking forward to Pink next week.

[vb68]

I liked it more than last week.  Is Gal Gadot a great host? No, probably not, but she made up for a lot with sheer enthusiasm. And she sure seems like an absolute sweetheart. I think everyone loved her. (Kenan was clapping at the end of the goodbyes in her direction like a lovestruck fool.) I think I got the plan with the mirage sketch with Kenan and Beck that they were making sure nothing was too hard and just weave her in to the sketch, but the last sketch showed she did have some flexibility in what she could attempt. 

I will say that I can still see a drop off in the writing without Chris and Sarah and that has me a bit worried, but hopefully they get that figured  out.  So far this season seems like it will be much less topical. Update never even got around to the "Moron" stuff.

But speaking of Update, they really did come in hot on guns and I really did think it was one of their strongest segments ever for Jost and Che. RBG is one of my favorite Kate characters.  I know other people (Brooks Wheelan) have tweeked their lack of airtime on the show, but boy Pete took that to another level. That was one of the most meta things I've ever seen.

Not a lot to say about the opening except I was impressed they got Aldean. I didn't see him make any other media appearances this week.

I wish I could give Gal a hug.  Oh yay for Kate.  I don't care about the rest of the sketch. Kate deserved that. 

Edited October 8, 2017 by vb68

[TV Anonymous]

Why did Gadot look as if she is staring far away and just reading her lines? Her eyes did not see the person she was talking to nor did they follow the camera.

[FortKnox]

Man did that Weekend Update show they don't know the first thing about guns or gun owners.

[27bored]

I missed the cold open, so I was surprised to see Jason Aldean was there at the end.

For Gal Gadot to be impossibly beautiful, she seems like such a warm-hearted person. She was a good host.

WU was kinda sucky. I don't mind Trump jokes, but these are getting to be more like Real Time w/ Bill Maher monologues than, you know, jokes. Kate McKinnon needs to be in an insane asylum, though. For real.

Sam Smith was a breath of fresh air. He was dressed like a lawyer doing after-work karaoke, and I love that even though he's got that newly trim figure and all these accolades, he still performs with little to no flair, and with this sort of 1st-grade-talent-show awkwardness that's kind of endearing. You just want to hug him and tell him he should believe in himself because he's great.

[Bees]

Cold Open: This was nice. They kind of double barreled the tribute, but I'm totally fine with that. Was this like the greatest cover ever? Hell no, but it was nice and meaningful. The little preamble from Aldean was great. This was just nice. I don't mind when SNL gets serious for a bit, so long as they're not up their own ass about it. 

Monologue: This just kind of went by. Painfully average.

E!: Nothing wrong with turning off your brain from everything, but I'd rather just curl up and watch cartoons than anything from E! but I did love the lineup of shows. They seem to do a good job with this kind of thing. 

Restaurant: Unlike Galieo908, the reveal of Kenan being OJ actually did surprise me a bit. This was decent and it didn't overstay its welcome. I liked the phone going off after Gal said to her friend she was having a good time with OJ. Then Kenan with the plastic knife was funny too. 

The Chosen One: In the words of the said Chosen One "Okay" It was alright. I think Chad was the pool boy in one previous sketch?

Mirage: For a second, I thought this was going to be the same style of sketch as the one from the Ariana Grande episode which featured Kate as the Blobfish. I kind of liked the randomness of Beck's character keep seeing that damn Jamba Juice but the sketch felt like it just didn't know how to end.

Safelight: I liked this one but I was really really hoping it'd turn into some kind of creepy horror movie swerve or have the actual Safelight guy show up and yell at Beck asking him what the hell he was doing. Still funny, but it really could've been better and gone in a much more interesting direction.

Weekend Update: The Update itself was great. Some good jokes in there and some nice commentary. It's nice to see Pete Davidson and I enjoyed the Meta levels of things here about how he wants more airtime. Notorious RBG just bored me. I dunno about you guys but I think I'm all McKinnon'd out. I still like her but I certainly am willing to go a while without seeing her. Anyways, this still a great Update.

Maiden and Mice: This was lame up until the end when Beck decided to take the mice to the ball with him. Then it got to "pretty decent" but it feels like they had the ending planned out first and just kind of threw together the beginning and middle. 

Spies: Why did Aidy Bryant sound like Chuckie from Rugrats? This was alright but I feel like I've seen this variation of characters from Cecily and Aidy before, but they do admittedly play trashy really well. 

Wonder Woman: I just rolled my eyes through this one. It's funny because lesbians, amirite?! I thought we were over this crap.

Naomi: This sketch comes off like it was a reject from a 1999 SNL episode that they found in the archives while really really high and thought it was hilarious then somehow convinced everybody else to air it only to find the execution to be okay but the joke to be kind of lost due to age. Maybe that's just me though. 

This was an okay episode. I liked it better than last week's episode with Mr. Chucklehead (seriously was there ANY live sketch that he didn't chuckle in?). Hopefully Kumail Nanjiani brings it and is awesome.

[Trini]

Thought Gal did fine; Leslie looked great in that WW costume; surprised that none of the other Justice League actors showed up.
 

12 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

Wonder Woman: "Why was a Wonder Woman sketch after Update and ohhh that's why." While I hope that this was a WW Meets Dyke & Fats sketch, it was just full of tired lesbian jokes. And then Kate got to make out with Gal Gadot and made everyone jealous. Everyone.

Speaking of writing sketches so we can make out with the hot host; Thor 3 is coming out soon, I hope Helmsworth's hosting again!

Edited October 8, 2017 by Trini
durrr

[Spartan Girl]

Man, they really missed a golden opportunity to put Wonder Woman in a Trump skit.

Oh well. Loved the Vegas/Tom Petty tribute. Michael Che was on fire on WU. And the OJ reveal in the restaurant skit was funny.

[Inquisitionist]

Thought it was much better than last week's, but not as good as the Buck Henry/Tom Petty episode from 1979 that aired earlier in the evening.   And that was from the season they lost Ackroyd and Belushi.

[Peace 47]

As Aldean started to sing "I Won't Back Down," and I saw how they were tying the events of the week together, I thought that was really a kind of a perfect tribute (although it's devastating that such a tribute is necessary, and the sheer numbers of people killed or injured in Las Vegas break my heart).

I couldn't help but feel sorry for Aldean having to perform for the first time: he's probably dealing with trauma right now, too.  I was reminded of Arianna Grande going back to England, visiting victims and performing soon after her concert tragedy:  I know it must be tough for them, but I'm sure it's inspiring for their fans.

I thought the Safelight sketch was in terrible taste without being funny (see the OJ sketch for one that was the former without committing the sin of the latter).  I'm surprised that NBC lawyers allowed Safelight to be mentioned in the context of a statutory rape joke, unless this was one of those sponsored sketches, in which case, yikes. 

"Chad" was the pool boy in the Julia Louis-Dreyfuss sketch and in that Benedict Cumberbatch sketch where the teacher fell in love with him.  I enjoyed the "Chosen One" sketch here.  The juxtaposition of extreme seriousness and extreme cluelessness still works for me.

[peeayebee]

9 hours ago, TV Anonymous said:

Why did Gadot look as if she is staring far away and just reading her lines? Her eyes did not see the person she was talking to nor did they follow the camera.

This is true. And yet, I'm fine with it because I adore her. She seems to be having a great time, everyone seems to be having a great time, the sketches are working, so somehow I just didn't care. She was amazing in WW and a great actor, so I'm given her a big ol' pass. Honestly, I kinda surprise myself because usually this sort of thing -- plus the slight delay in her line readings -- usually bug me no end, but like I said, because everything else worked and was so... bouncy, joyful, funny, GOOD... I don't mind.

 

9 hours ago, FortKnox said:

Man did that Weekend Update show they don't know the first thing about guns or gun owners.

I'm definitely for more gun laws and enforcement, but I did cringe at the simplicity of the arguments here. I had just heard part of a story on NPR that morning that compared gun ownership betw the US and Switzerland, where many citizens own guns. I thought it was very interesting and informative, but I was also saddened that we can't seem to have a civil, rational discussion in the US. Of course SNL is a comedy show and can't get into nuances about topics; it's all about the punchline. But this part of WU just didn't seem funny or insightful to me. The joke about multiple dildos, on the other hand... LOL!

 

9 hours ago, Bees said:

Cold Open: This was nice. They kind of double barreled the tribute, but I'm totally fine with that. Was this like the greatest cover ever? Hell no, but it was nice and meaningful.

Yeah, I felt ... I was going to say petty, but, well... Anyway, I don't know and haven't heard all the country singers, but I didn't think Aldean did a good cover of this song. However, it was heartfelt and appropriate.

I absolutely loved when Leslie burst onto the stage in the WW costume. First off, she looked GOOD. Second, it was just plain funny.

I loved the E! channel reality lineup. I don't watch this channel -- does it still exist? -- or reality shows, but this was hilarious. I don't have her face emblazoned in my brain, but I think Gal looked a lot like Kendall. 'Blake and Gwen' and 'Where's Kanye' were hysterical. I also loved the little bit of 'Background Actors of Riverdale.' I don't know why because I don't think I even know what Riverdale is. Anyway, I loved this.

 

Quote

Restaurant: Unlike Galieo908, the reveal of Kenan being OJ actually did surprise me a bit. This was decent and it didn't overstay its welcome. I liked the phone going off after Gal said to her friend she was having a good time with OJ. Then Kenan with the plastic knife was funny too.

I was so surprised I cackled out loud. I had been wondering why Kenan had the bald cap on. I think it's fortunate that there's absolutely no resemblance betw him and OJ, because when Gal called him "OJ," I was completely, delightfully surprised. And all the jokes were great. Really, this sketch was fantastic.

I also loved The Chosen One. Pete doing that Chad character always ALWAYS cracks me up.

I thought the Mirage sketch was also very good. Everyone was good in it, but for me Kyle and Mikey were perfect.

Safelite was another winner. This was executed so well. I don't have any criticisms about it. 

 

Quote

Weekend Update: The Update itself was great. Some good jokes in there and some nice commentary. It's nice to see Pete Davidson and I enjoyed the Meta levels of things here about how he wants more airtime. Notorious RBG just bored me. I dunno about you guys but I think I'm all McKinnon'd out. I still like her but I certainly am willing to go a while without seeing her. Anyways, this still a great Update.

I'm definitely NOT McKinnon'd out, but I'm not entertained by the Notorious RBG bit. It bores me too. I will say that when she started out with the little boxing moves, I immediately pictured those boxing nun puppet-type toys. (I think I might have said this before when her character first appeared way back. Oh well. I'm old.) 

Maiden and Mice was another good sketch. Kyle, Kate, and Aidy were PERFECT as the mice. This is probably a random observation, but I loved Beck's deep voice. Anyway, the mice trio made this work.

The Spy/Sex-cam sketch was probably my least favorite. I did like when Aidy spun around then fell over. 

I don't know why, but I liked the Amazon/WW sketch. Again, it was because of the performances. Aidy and Kate were great.

The Naomi sketch was pretty good, I thought, but again it was because of the performances. The new gal was great. The thing with the straws was weird and so funny. "You all are jealous of me and my straws 'cause you don't even know what I use them for." 

 

4 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Man, they really missed a golden opportunity to put Wonder Woman in a Trump skit.

OK, it's early and I haven't had my coffee, but I first read this as they should have put Wonder Woman in a Trump suit. I was all, "Uh? Why?" I even tried picturing it. Ick.

The main reason I enjoyed this ep so so much is because of how great everyone was in it. Everyone committed to his/her character. Gal was the weakest performer, but I wonder if her enthusiasm and personality rubbed off on everyone. It just seemed to me that everyone meshed and put on their A+ game. 

Edited October 8, 2017 by peeayebee

[slowpoked]

21 hours ago, DollEyes said:

Even better if the WW skit involves her using the Golden Lasso either on Alec Baldwin's Trump, Melania, Don Jr. & Eric or several members of the Cabinet, including Ivanka, Jeff Sessions and especially Rex Tillerson. 

I wouldn't be surprised if they had something similar planned or written as the cold open, but had to scratch it at the last minute due to the events that happened last week. 

But I thought it was a nice touch to get Aldean on there. And I'm glad he agreed to do it. I'm sure he hasn't recovered yet from what happened. I read an article where his pregnant wife was during the concert and as she was ducking for cover, she kept thinking "I never even had a chance to hold my baby..." God that was heartbreaking! Jason was probably thinking the same thing. 

SNL always gets it right during the episodes right after a major tragedy. So kudos to them for keeping it simple but heartfelt.

That said, Gal was very obvious in reading her lines, but kept it together and didn't crack up one bit. So kudos to her for that. Plus, I always, always love a host who gives their everything in every sketch, no matter how cheeseball it is, and Gal was that. Her enthusiasm just transcended on the screen. I'd rather have that kind of host rather than someone who acts like they could be someplace else better. The cast did seem to enjoy being with her, and I love that she did a pause for both Sam Smith and Jason Aldean at the end so that the audience can have some time to clap and cheer for them, rather than just reading through to mention everyone. It's those little things that I enjoy.

WU was on point this week, and yes, there was so much to cover they didn't even get to the moron part. I wish they had Rex Tillerson instead of RBG, grill him if he really said moron. Or maybe had WW use her lasso of truth so we can settle this once and for all. And I wish Gal came out when Pete Davidson said he'd like a chance to kiss the host. 

Edited October 8, 2017 by slowpoked

[Inquisitionist]

6 minutes ago, slowpoked said:

that said, Gal was very obvious in reading her lines, but kept it together and didn't crack up one bit. So kudos to her for that. Plus, I always, always love a host who gives their everything in every sketch, no matter how cheeseball it is, and Gal was that. Her enthusiasm just transcended on the screen. I'd rather have that kind of host rather than someone who acts like they could be someplace else better. The cast did seem to enjoy being with her, and I love that she did a pause for both Sam Smith and Jason Aldean at the end so that the audience can have some time to clap and cheer for them, rather than just reading through to mention everyone. It's those little things that I enjoy.

Co-sign.  Gadot is a class act and impressed me a lot.

[Racj82]

Blah. Gadot sucked. I've long since stopped giving hosts passes because they are enthusiastic. Be funny. 

The writing wasn't the best but as I assumed going in, they were going to write around her lack of humor or just being able to dive into a character. 

Yay, she's wonder woman! I don't care. 

The episode around her wasn't bad though.

I actually thought kenan was going to Cosby instead if O.J. with the gray in the hair forgetting about O.J. hair these days.

A lot of darkness in the episode shockingly. Rape, killers, no punches pulled wu. Damn. I don't mind it. I'm not super sensitive in terms of what can be used for humor.

Good use of the cast this week. 

Bad case of no endings for sketches this week too.

[VCRTracking]

Oh my god Gal Gadot is so pretty it hurts.

Sorry just had to get that out of the way!

I think that's what makes her a great successor to Lynda Carter is that Carter her she's not just gorgeous but she exudes a likeablity and kindness that makes her even more beautiful.

 Didn't know Kenan was playing OJ until he said his name.

Kenan was on a LOT during this episode. It's one of the reasons I can't complain about him being on the show for so long. If he was on only once in a while I'd be annoyed but he's working so much. Also unlike Kristen Wiig he mostly reacts to other

Edited October 8, 2017 by VCRTracking

[Traveller519]

I felt like this was the most consistently strong start to the show they've had in a while.

When they opened with Aldean talking into the camera, I was skeptical of what was coming, fearing it would be over-done, but when he hit the opening cord of "Won't Back Down"  it was obvious this was what we needed. You had a deep red state musician playing on a New York stage to a national audience a song from an American Music icon we lost this week with a message to "keep going and be better." I'm no country fan, but I became an Aldean fan right there.

The monologue was earnest, and somewhat original, with a couple cute hooks. Plus Leslie looked incredible in her Street Wonder Woman outfit.

Though I've probably seen a grand total of seven minutes of Kardashian programming in my life, the jokes hit remarkably well and weren't too insider-y on the E! Promo. Chris Redd as Kanye avoiding "all of this" made me laugh a lot.

Then the OJ sketch.  Holy Hell.  This was the best written "first post-monologue live sketch" in a long time. The set-up was beautiful with the obviously unimpressed waitress, the establishment of Gal's character not knowing about American News in the 90s due to the Bosnian war of independence, and the first time trying online dating. And then it flowed so well from there, with the plastic knife being the cout-de-grat.

After all that I couldn't have cared about the rest of the show, they came out strong. Loved Clueless Chad and Pete on Update, and I'm glad they let Gal play with the Wonder Woman sketch.

[hendersonrocks]

Quote

"Chad" was the pool boy in the Julia Louis-Dreyfuss sketch and in that Benedict Cumberbatch sketch where the teacher fell in love with him.

YES! Thank you for making the connection, because it was driving me nuts - I knew we had seen Chad and is "okay" before. 

While Gal seems like a truly lovely human, I thought a lot of the show fell flat. I'm not even really sure why...some of the sketches had potential and Weekend Update was pretty good (I love Che & Jost unchained), but it just didn't impress me much (TM Shania Twain). I didn't miss Alec Trump at all, though, and actually thought it was kind of nice to have a week without him.

Sam Smith is one of my BECs. I couldn't make it past the first minute of the first song.

[mtlchick]

1 hour ago, peeayebee said:

Why did Gadot look as if she is staring far away and just reading her lines? Her eyes did not see the person she was talking to nor did they follow the camera.

That can be said of a lot of actors, but at least it seems she wanted to be there as opposed to say Robert De Niro.   

 

5 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Man, they really missed a golden opportunity to put Wonder Woman in a Trump skit.

 

That with some cracks towards James Cameron who hasn't been kind to the movie.  But somehow I don't Kate is complaining. 

[Inquisitionist]

32 minutes ago, Racj82 said:

Bad case of no endings for sketches this week too.

Really?  I was actually thinking "When did they get writers who know how to end a sketch?"  I thought several were short, snappy, and ended quite well.

15 minutes ago, hendersonrocks said:

Sam Smith is one of my BECs. I couldn't make it past the first minute of the first song.

I have no idea what BEC is, but I skipped over his songs.  Have heard him on the radio and have no idea why he's considered such hot shit.

[hendersonrocks]

Quote

I have no idea what BEC is, but I skipped over his songs.

Sorry! BEC = Bitch Eating Crackers, which is a strange phrase for saying that everything a particular person does drives you nuts, no matter how mild or inoffensive (e.g., eating crackers) it is.

[teebax]

I absolutely loved this episode, start to finish.

Gal is my new celebrity crush. I saw Wonder Woman but wasn't really that into her until seeing her on SNL. I love when the host is all in. I liked all the sketches and WU. I'm completely jealous of Kate McKinnon. Lol. 

The best part for me was the lack of a Trump sketch. I love Alec, but I need less Trump on my screen, real and fake.

[slowpoked]

53 minutes ago, Traveller519 said:

Then the OJ sketch.  Holy Hell.  This was the best written "first post-monologue live sketch" in a long time. The set-up was beautiful with the obviously unimpressed waitress, the establishment of Gal's character not knowing about American News in the 90s due to the Bosnian war of independence, and the first time trying online dating. And then it flowed so well from there, with the plastic knife being the cout-de-grat.

It was the little details too that made the sketch perfect. I thought they were going in with a political sketch because they weren't able to do it in the cold open, but save for Gal's obvious cue card reading, that sketch hit all the right notes. Gal's girlfriend who kept calling right back. Or how about the black waiter who gave a little, discreet fist bump to OJ and said "my man!"? Or how about that he ordered practically the entire entree menu with the biggest meats on there because he hasn't eaten that well in years? The knife reveal was just icing on the cake. The trophy mentions. And they were still able to slip in the hint of racism too. One of the best written non-political (sort of) sketches they had in recent times.

Edited October 8, 2017 by slowpoked

[cocobeans]

1 hour ago, peeayebee said:

Yeah, I felt ... I was going to say petty, but, well... Anyway, I don't know and haven't heard all the country singers, but I didn't think Aldean did a good cover of this song. However, it was heartfelt and appropriate.

That was not what Jason Aldean normally sounds like, I could definitely tell he was choked up. You're right that it sounded a bit off but very heartfelt.

[formerlyfreedom]

A reminder please; discuss the show, and not personal politics. If it's not on the show, your post may be removed, even if it's just a small part of a post. This is not the place to reference other sites/sources/shows to make a point. Thank you.

[msrachelj]

11 hours ago, TV Anonymous said:

Why did Gadot look as if she is staring far away and just reading her lines? Her eyes did not see the person she was talking to nor did they follow the camera.

it was distracting. i don't think she even bothered to remember her lines. just read everything. otherwise i really liked the show last night. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Gal is gorgeous and sexy, but she was not at all good at this.  You cannot get into or enjoy a sketch when the main actor is so clearly reading her lines from very far away.

Edited October 8, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[Racj82]

47 minutes ago, Inquisitionist said:

Really?  I was actually thinking "When did they get writers who know how to end a sketch?"  I thought several were short, snappy, and ended quite well.

 

The webcam girls sketch had a week ending or no real one. What happens because her demands weren't met. Riff on that.

The prince wants to date mouses. I'm sure they spent 30 seconds on that.

The lesbians go to another lesbo island? Just weak and reads as if not much thought was put into how to wrap things up.

I do feel like this episode may just mirror my thoughts on wonder woman as whole. I thought the movie fine and she was fine it. Pretty damn good to be fair. A lot of positives. But the unending support and crowning it as great or the best of anything? Don't see it. Never will.

This was a fine episode that I will forget about by dinner time. Gal added nothing. 

[Ohwell]

12 hours ago, Bees said:

I dunno about you guys but I think I'm all McKinnon'd out. I still like her but I certainly am willing to go a while without seeing her.

I feel the same way about her as I felt about Kristen Wiig.  Too much airtime. 

[Quickbeam]

I loved the Aldean opener. I’m not a fan but that’s a stand up guy to rise to that. Plus I’m sure he doesn’t sing that song routinely. Better than the rest of the show. How thin is Sam Smith going to get? Yikes, he looked frail. 

[Mumbles]

Quote

Sam Smith is one of my BECs. I couldn't make it past the first minute of the first song.

lol I had to google this and totally agree. He's like this generation's Michael Bolton. Screamer, no subtlety or nuance. Plus I'm annoyed how he incorrectly bragged when he won an Oscar for his James Bond theme that he was the first openly gay man to do so.

Interestingly, years ago people accused his song "Stay with Me" as a rip of "I Won't Back Down." IIRC Smith apologized and Tom Petty was totally cool with it.

Quote

felt about Kristen Wiig.  Too much airtime.

 Yeah I agree that they're using Kate a lot but I just think she's funnier than Wiig and Wiig had, IMO, a habit of trying to hog the spotlight and chew the scenery, and I haven't seen Kate do that yet. 

Quote

It was distracting. i don't think she even bothered to remember her lines. just read everything. otherwise i really liked the show last night. 

I don't know if things have changed, but years ago Janeane Garafolo said that the producers used to yell at her because she tried to learn the lines. They just expected everyone to read off the cards. That said, Gal's card reading was more obvious than with most, but as pointed out, no worse than DeNiro.

Count me as someone who was charmed by Gal. Cheerfully brave, contrasted with Felicity Jones last year who looked terrified to be there.

[Fabricationary]

I almost thought Heidi Gardner was Maya Rudolph making a cameo during the Naomi Show sketch.

[mikem]

I remember reading that the producers tell the guest hosts to just read the lines off the cue cards, and they discourage any memorizing.  I think the rationale is that the sketches get re-written, and they don't want someone saying old lines.

[dcalley]

I don't know why, but I really loved "Y'all're jealous of me and my straws, 'cause you don't even know what I use 'em for."

I thought Pete was going to walk on while Kate and Gal were kissing and say "Oh, come on!" or something. That might have been a better ending and would have made it slightly shorter.

[slowpoked]

1 hour ago, Mumbles said:

lol I had to google this and totally agree. He's like this generation's Michael Bolton. Screamer, no subtlety or nuance. Plus I'm annoyed how he incorrectly bragged when he won an Oscar for his James Bond theme that he was the first openly gay man to do so.

Interestingly, years ago people accused his song "Stay with Me" as a rip of "I Won't Back Down." IIRC Smith apologized and Tom Petty was totally cool with it.

God, Stay With Me was one of those songs that highly annoyed me constantly. Mostly because of Sam Smith's voice. Just an unpleasant funeral-like dirge. Ugh.

Quote

Yeah I agree that they're using Kate a lot but I just think she's funnier than Wiig and Wiig had, IMO, a habit of trying to hog the spotlight and chew the scenery, and I haven't seen Kate do that yet. 

I know Kate has been the leading lady for awhile now, but this maybe also SNL just taking advantage of the fact that Kate had just won an Emmy for her work on SNL, and they just wanted to highlight that for some casual and/or newer audience. 

 

1 hour ago, Mumbles said:

I don't know if things have changed, but years ago Janeane Garafolo said that the producers used to yell at her because she tried to learn the lines. They just expected everyone to read off the cards. That said, Gal's card reading was more obvious than with most, but as pointed out, no worse than DeNiro.

When Betty White hosted five or so years ago, she memorized ALL her lines because she doesn't want to rely on cue cards and wanted to have better interaction with the other cast members. I remember reading where cast members said they were impressed with Betty's professionalism treating SNL as if she was filming a TV show or a movie.

Edited October 8, 2017 by slowpoked

[VCRTracking]

2 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Gal is gorgeous and sexy, but she was not at all good at this.  You cannot get into or enjoy a sketch when the main actor is so clearly reading her lines from very far away.

I've seen other hosts clearly reading from cue cards(Heather Locklear). It's definitely an unappreciated skill. There are hosts who look like they're not reading at all and are natural. There are other hosts who are so strange anyway(Christopher Walken) that it's not really noticeable.

 

2 hours ago, msrachelj said:

it was distracting. i don't think she even bothered to remember her lines. just read everything. otherwise i really liked the show last night. 

All hosts read from the cue cards. Doesn't matter if they're professional actors or athletes. It's because sketches changes so much from dress rehearsal that there's no point in memorizing. The key is to not look like you're reading but the fear of messing up live is so great I don't blame guests for not taking their eyes off the cards.

 

 

14 hours ago, Bees said:

Wonder Woman: I just rolled my eyes through this one. It's funny because lesbians, amirite?! I thought we were over this crap.

Will & Grace just had a big revival so I guess... not? I liked the sketch because instead of doing the expected with Aidy and Kate being excited at being on an island full of Amazons, they were let down. I think the joke is more because for years in comics and other media never been stated out loud that everyone on Paradise/Themyscira is gay(and Diana is at least bi) mainly because sex wasn't talked about in superhero comics pre Watchmen. Recently DC has stated for the record that yes, Amazons are Lesbians. but for years their sexuality always just assumed with a wink and left to be subtext.

[peeayebee]

3 hours ago, slowpoked said:

It was the little details too that made the sketch perfect. I thought they were going in with a political sketch because they weren't able to do it in the cold open, but save for Gal's obvious cue card reading, that sketch hit all the right notes. Gal's girlfriend who kept calling right back. Or how about the black waiter who gave a little, discreet fist bump to OJ and said "my man!"? Or how about that he ordered practically the entire entree menu with the biggest meats on there because he hasn't eaten that well in years? The knife reveal was just icing on the cake. The trophy mentions. And they were still able to slip in the hint of racism too. One of the best written non-political (sort of) sketches they had in recent times.

ITA. Also, at the very start the waiter quickly removed their dishes (appetizers?), prompting Gal to say something about the service probably being worse than when Kenan had last been there. Only later if you think about this bit do you see that it was because the waiter didn't like serving OJ.

 

3 hours ago, cocobeans said:

That was not what Jason Aldean normally sounds like, I could definitely tell he was choked up. You're right that it sounded a bit off but very heartfelt.

Thanks for the info. I'm glad to hear that he sings much better than that normally. Completely understandable that he would have a hard time singing.

 

2 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Gal is gorgeous and sexy, but she was not at all good at this.  You cannot get into or enjoy a sketch when the main actor is so clearly reading her lines from very far away.

I did!

[opus]

I liked when the 40 million went into the tip jar.

[vb68]

Here's Mike Ryan's scorecard. He sees the same problem I do with the writing.  Also, I find it both amusing yet rather odd that Safelite decided to  tweet that their people don't act like that. Lol

Edited October 8, 2017 by vb68

[VCRTracking]

Sam Smith is okay but since he lost weight he looks like Kirk from Gilmore Girls and it was distracting.