S44.E17: Kit Harington / Sara Bareilles

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

Hosted by Kit Harington, with music by Sara Bareilles

Airing Saturday, April 6, 2019.

[ajsnaves]

[MVFrostsMyPie]

I’m actually really looking forward to this episode. Kit! Sara! A musical guest whose songs I can sing along to! Mind you, I wish they’d stick Sara in a sketch or two. She’s been on Broadway and she’s actually a funny gal. 

There’s gotta be a GoT sketch, right?

[Pete Martell]

50 minutes ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

I’m actually really looking forward to this episode. Kit! Sara! A musical guest whose songs I can sing along to! Mind you, I wish they’d stick Sara in a sketch or two. She’s been on Broadway and she’s actually a funny gal. 

There’s gotta be a GoT sketch, right?

I wonder if they will do an auditions sketch (although I guess maybe Seth Meyers or another show already did one).

[JZL]

SHAME!

[Pete Martell]

[VCRTracking]

Jason Sudeikis back as Joe Biden!

As a Game of Thrones fan I loved the monologue with the cameos from Emilia Clarke(Danaerys), John Bradley(Samwell), and Rose Leslie(Ygritte).

Edited April 7, 2019 by VCRTracking

[jcin617]

I keep having to remind myself it’s Kit; it’s so weird to see him without a beard.   Wonder what he had to shave it for since in the promos, title cards and GOT fake commercial he still had it.

[BigPaul25]

Man, Kit is game tonight. Would have loved to be there when they pitched the burlesque sketch “So you’ll be in pasties...”

[Galileo908]

Cold Open: We start with Jason Sudeikis back as Biden! Yeah yeah, bringing in another guest star, but seriously, who else would play him? Beck? He could probably do it, but we'd all be wondering why they didn't bring in Jason. Sudeikis Biden energy is an energy that's been missing from this show, god I've missed this. Bringing in Leslie Jones to geek out over "Obama's Grandaddy" is the best part and yeah, that's why he's gonna pull pretty far ahead early. Sad but true. And unlike You Know Who, Biden LOVES all the memes and jokes about him. 

Monologue: I don't watch Game of Thrones, but I'm hyped. And yeah, love all the GOT jokes, and the cameos, especially Emilia Clarke. Pete as the Night King was so great.

2019 Nephew Pageant: This is one of the weirdest sketches I've seen in a while, and wow was this good. "Scared at Sports" is such a mood. I know that feel. I'd love to be a fly on the wall when someone pitched "Good at Lent."

Kenan just declaring "THE BOY WINS" and have it be Kit Harrington again was amazing.

Game of Thrones Spinoffs: Genius. How many of these spoofs have the writers been sitting on? And for how long? Ayra as Daria was so freaking great, as was Hodor's House (Pee-Wee's Playhouse spoofs are always welcome), and Marsika & Ice T in GoT: SVU. I'd watch those.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER DIRE WOLF was the best.

Sinatra: Kit Harrington as Michael Jackson as Frank Sinatra. Oh my god. And they were the Jackson 5 cover band until a few weeks ago. And Leslie was just some stranger was a perfect capper. Who pitched this? I love it.

Earth War 3: I liked this one. I really liked the look of it, too. Actually looked like a VR game.

WU: Uncle Joe being the main focus this week is such a breath of fresh air. He may not be Jebediah Atkinson, but I loved the film critic character. He was weird, but he just got better as it went on. "Oh Colin, you still believe in time?" is the line of the night, you heard it here. It was so good to see Kenan's Charles Barkley again. I was watching that game, the real Barkley was LOSING IT.

Yes, those weird news headlines Colin brought up were real. Jim Carrey's twitter beef with Mussolini's granddaughter, Elon Musk's Harambe Rap, and the chicken that got a wheelchair.

Bachelorette Party: And now Kit Harrington doing burlesque, for the ladies. This man is fearless. And in comes Kate as a weird burlesque teacher to make it better. And Melissa being his sister was the perfect twist. Like, oh my god.

Brexit: And now Sara Bareilles singing a Waitress song about Theresa May. Somehow I think the life she has in this spoof is better than her actual life. Well, wasn't expecting Theresa May to make out with Winston Churchill. 

Office Nerds: This was silly, but probably the weakest sketch so far. "Ye Olde Masturbation" was the best part, and that was some good slight of hand when they pulled out all the pictures.

Colonoscopy: Leslie being the surgeon was great, the fingernails were the single best touch. You just know Leslie pitched this one. Yeah, an entire sketch where she gets to touch Kit Harrington. I know your game, Leslie. The twist being an ep of Undercover Boss was unexpected and a little sudden. But hey, we finally got a 5-to-1 sketch to play out in full.

So this was a great one!

[Mystery]

24 minutes ago, BigPaul25 said:

Man, Kit is game tonight. Would have loved to be there when they pitched the burlesque sketch “So you’ll be in pasties...”

He really was! 

My favorite was the video game sketch. 

It doesn't seem like Pete hangs around for the end of the show anymore. 

[lou ann b]

My local affliate went dark at 1030 and never returned tonight.Damm you,WDTN. 

Off to youtube..and the open isn't up yet...want to see Jason!

Edited April 7, 2019 by lou ann b
Forgot

[ottoDbusdriver]

2 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

WU: Uncle Joe being the main focus this week is such a breath of fresh air. He may not be Jebediah Atkinson, but I loved the film critic character. He was weird, but he just got better as it went on. "Oh Colin, you still believe in time?" is the line of the night, you heard it here. It was so good to see Kenan's Charles Barkley again. I was watching that game, the real Barkley was LOSING IT.

Che's Game of Thrones Oreos bit with the catch line 'Diabetes is coming' made me snort out loud.

3 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

Colonoscopy: Leslie being the surgeon was great, the fingernails were the single best touch. You just know Leslie pitched this one. Yeah, an entire sketch where she gets to touch Kit Harrington. I know your game, Leslie. The twist being an ep of Undercover Boss was unexpected and a little sudden. But hey, we finally got a 5-to-1 sketch to play out in full.

That sketch was funny, and Kit just committed to the physical part when Pete was wrestling him into position. 
Leslie's nails were nicely over the top, especially with opening the pineapple Fanta, she just stabbed it.

[vb68]

I don't think it was quite as good as last week, but I really enjoyed most everything. Kit was game for anything, and fun and engaging. He seemed like he was enjoying himself, and that always makes a difference. He can come back.

Not surprised to see Sudeikis. I figured he'd be back, and looks like he's not giving up the Biden role anytime soon.

One of the better monologues of the season. At least it wasn't an afterthought. 

Update was pretty good. Liked the movie reviewer even if he makes me miss Jebidiah!  I think I might agree with him that Dumbo looks a "journey through hell". Kidding. Sorta.  I have to say, though. Having watched Charles Barkley earlier tonight and in about a thousand commercials lately, Kenan is no match for the real thing on that one.

The Theresa May sequence wasn't really that funny but worked for me. It made me feel more sympathetic to her when I'm NOT sure I should.

Really enjoyed Bareilles' second song and it was just so refreshing to have someone at the piano singing without all the extra bells and whistles. Can't believe it was her time on the show.

Edited April 7, 2019 by vb68

[Pete Martell]

I haven't watched the whole show yet, but I did see the Biden sketch. I wasn't even sure if they would go there, but I guess the opportunity to get Jason Sudeikis back was there for the taking. 

Naturally some felt the sketch was attacking Biden and others felt they were whitewashing him. I mostly took it as being close to my own view of him - that he is a mostly decent guy who desperately needs to learn how to treat women with more respect. 

Having Leslie Jones come in and give him a grope sort of undercut the point, whatever the point was intended to be, but I did laugh at her calling him "Obama's granddaddy," as that's what he will always be known for by many people. 

It was such a breath of fresh air to have no Trump and no Baldwin as Trump. Even though the writing wasn't the best, Sudeikis really just had such life and energy, and he wasn't doing that smug victory lap of playing himself that some alums do in these stints. 

Anyway, I see that they didn't mention Colin and Michael Che having the upcoming wrestling match. I know some were disappointed about this. Is this one of those moments where SNL/NBC for legal reasons couldn't promote the event?

I wonder if the writers were inspired by this Mulaney bit. Ice T's dialogue reminded me a little of it:

Kit Harington seemed to be very game...and from what I saw, partially undressed much of the time. If Game of Thrones had stripped him off that many times, I might still be watching the show. 

[futurechemist]

Kit was really game. And I liked that so many sketches ended with a wonderfully weird twist. 

Cruise ship passenger was a stranger

Undercover boss

Stripper's sister

SVU stars

[vb68]

26 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

Monologue: I don't watch Game of Thrones,

Gotta say I'm pretty surprised by that.  I think you would really enjoy it.

26 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

2019 Nephew Pageant: This is one of the weirdest sketches I've seen in a while, and wow was this good. "Scared at Sports" is such a mood. I know that feel. I'd love to be a fly on the wall when someone pitched "Good at Lent."

It really was weird but in a good way. I meant to mention that I have been watching this show for so long that it reminded me of one of my favorite Jan Hooks' sketches called "Miss Self Esteem USA". Very similar approach.

Quote

Office Nerds: This was silly, but probably the weakest sketch so far. "Ye Olde Masturbation" was the best part, and that was some good slight of hand when they pulled out all the pictures

My favorite part of this was watching Cecily's face in the background.

Edited April 7, 2019 by vb68

[Galileo908]

5 minutes ago, vb68 said:

Gotta say I'm pretty surprised by that.  I think you would really enjoy it.

I can say that I've seen most of the big moments by proxy. I'm too spoiled to appreciate it, really.

[Pete Martell]

This is the shirt Sudeikis had on for the goodnights. Sweet. (and as a bonus, you get Mikey Day and a band member staring into your soul)

9 minutes ago, vb68 said:

Gotta say I'm pretty surprised by that.  I think you would really enjoy it.

It really was weird but in a good way. I meant to mention that I have been watching this show for so long that it reminded me of one of my favorite Jan Hooks' sketches called "Miss Self Esteem USA". Very similar approach.

Jan was brilliant in that sketch (I also love Victoria Jackson just saying "my boyfriend" over and over, and running off the stage in tears when her twirling goes awry). 

It also reminded me of that Daddy sketch a few months ago. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Kit was really good.  And so was Sara.  It was a good show, though I wouldn't even be able to think of anything memorable to tell you.  EXCEPT I thought that the Michael Jackson impersonator as Frank Sinatra idea was brilliant.

[Pete Martell]

Nice that she mentioned a Gilda sketch. 

[Dr.OO7]

I actually shrieked with laughter at Benson and Fin's cameo.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

OMG, "Executive Producer: Dire Wolf" got a huge laugh out of me. Loved the spoofs!

I am totally sending the nephew sketch to my sister (because obviously I am my nephew's favorite aunt ever). 

Yay! Sara Bareilles! Nice to be able to actually sing along to a musical guest's performance, for the first time in far too long of a time. 

Also, OMFG, love that they incorporated "She Used to be Mine" into an SNL sketch. I've seen Waitress twice and cried like a baby during that song both times (and sometimes when I'm just listening to the soundtrack on repeat), so it was nice to laugh during it for once. Can you tell I've had a major girl crush on Sara for more than a decade?

Also, the Grover graphic with his arm cut off made me laugh harder than I probably should have. 

This episode went by pretty quickly! I'll have to watch it again tomorrow when I'm not as sleepy.

[Gemma Violet]

I had no idea who Kit Harrington was.  I see he's on Game of Thrones which I've never watched.  I guess that's why some of the sketches went over my head.  With the exception of the great Jason Sudeikis as Joe Biden and a couple of other sketches, the show was meh for me tonight.

[Irlandesa]

This show sometimes has a tough time finishing skits.  But tonight's burlesque skit was nearly perfectly paced starting with the initial conceit, then randomly adding Kate's French burlesque teacher to finish it with the perfect capper "thanks sis."  They just nailed it.

1 hour ago, Pete Martell said:

Having Leslie Jones come in and give him a grope sort of undercut the point, whatever the point was intended to be, but I did laugh at her calling him "Obama's granddaddy," as that's what he will always be known for by many people.

I don't think she undercut the point of the skit but she did undercut the point Kate McKinnon's character was trying to reinforce which can make it tough to change someone's behavior.  I'm certain there are touchy feely people out there who have no problem getting close and personal with Joe.  But he can't extrapolate that reaction to everyone he meets.

[JakeyJokes]

As a gay man and Minneapolis native, WU absolutely slayed me with Michael Che's shock that gay people still live in Wisconsin and Kenan's Charles Barkley not enjoying Minneapolis because we are lake people (but at least not river people - we have the Mississippi but you can't swim in it). That was a one-two punch for me at home.

[Mystery]

1 hour ago, Pete Martell said:

Naturally some felt the sketch was attacking Biden and others felt they were whitewashing him.

I think they were doing both; I thought it was pretty evenhanded. I saw a tweet today that encapsulated Biden for me: his behavior wasn't as #MeToo bad as most people's, but he used those #MeToo violators' arguments in favor of himself. Not good. I think the show expressed that in WU when they talked about his strange video. 

For some reason I'm still thinking of the Theresa May video. Probably because I think that female politicians are treated so terribly almost everywhere. 

5 minutes ago, JakeyJokes said:

As a gay man and Minneapolis native, WU absolutely slayed me with Michael Che's shock that gay people still live in Wisconsin and Kenan's Charles Barkley not enjoying Minneapolis because we are lake people (but at least not river people 

That was SO random and yet totally understandable. 

[Mibbitmaker]

This was SNL's O. Henry/E.C. Comics/Twilight Zone night with all those twist endings. Added a nice extra dimension to another good one.

[possibilities]

15 minutes ago, JakeyJokes said:

Michael Che's shock that gay people still live in Wisconsin

Madison was a hotbed of lesbian revolution for decades (maybe still is, I don't know), but I can't vouch for the rest of WI.

Edited April 7, 2019 by possibilities

[JakeyJokes]

3 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Madison was a hotbed of lesbian revolution for decades (maybe still is, I don't know), but I can't vouch for the rest of WI.

How interesting! I wonder if it's because of the university there. A friend and I road tripped to Milwaukee once and they have gay bars (where Trixie Mattel of RuPaul's Drag Race got her start), but it's not a trip I need to make again. MN is generally much more progressive than WI (and definitely was regarding gay rights), so I appreciated the hell out of that joke.

[Spartan Girl]

I LOVED the GOT spinoffs sketch. And even though I'm done with SVU, I loved Fin and Olivia's cameo.

Did anyone else think that the Nephew Pageant would be a skit with Dany and Jon? Disappointed it wasn't.

[cambridgeguy]

4 hours ago, Mystery said:

I think they were doing both; I thought it was pretty evenhanded. I saw a tweet today that encapsulated Biden for me: his behavior wasn't as #MeToo bad as most people's, but he used those #MeToo violators' arguments in favor of himself. Not good. I think the show expressed that in WU when they talked about his strange video. 

Yup, I think it depends on how you view him.  Hate him?  Well, he's yet another powerful man getting a free pass because he's viewed as "folksy".  Love him?  Why are you lumping a good man in with the more malicious harassers out there? 

I do wish they had pointed out how you can get past any controversy if you can survive the first week of it.  See Virginia's governor, Trump, etc.

If Biden does decide to jump in I wonder if Sudeikis will continue to cameo.  I don't think it speaks well of SNL if they keep bringing in guest stars and alums to handle the impressions of current political figures.

Edited April 7, 2019 by cambridgeguy

[BigPaul25]

5 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

I haven't watched the whole show yet, but I did see the Biden sketch. I wasn't even sure if they would go there, but I guess the opportunity to get Jason Sudeikis back was there for the taking. 

Naturally some felt the sketch was attacking Biden and others felt they were whitewashing him. I mostly took it as being close to my own view of him - that he is a mostly decent guy who desperately needs to learn how to treat women with more respect. 

Having Leslie Jones come in and give him a grope sort of undercut the point, whatever the point was intended to be, but I did laugh at her calling him "Obama's granddaddy," as that's what he will always be known for by many people. 

It was such a breath of fresh air to have no Trump and no Baldwin as Trump. Even though the writing wasn't the best, Sudeikis really just had such life and energy, and he wasn't doing that smug victory lap of playing himself that some alums do in these stints. 

Anyway, I see that they didn't mention Colin and Michael Che having the upcoming wrestling match. I know some were disappointed about this. Is this one of those moments where SNL/NBC for legal reasons couldn't promote the event?

I wonder if the writers were inspired by this Mulaney bit. Ice T's dialogue reminded me a little of it:

Kit Harington seemed to be very game...and from what I saw, partially undressed much of the time. If Game of Thrones had stripped him off that many times, I might still be watching the show. 

 WWE has a contract with NBC Universal as they are the parent company of USA Network. I’m old enough to remember Hulk Hogan and Mr. T hosting SNL to promote the very first Wrestlemania.

[RandomWatcher]

Anyone else think 'who the hell is this guy' when a a beardless Kit walked out? before realize that was Kit?

[jcin617]

23 minutes ago, RandomWatcher said:

Anyone else think 'who the hell is this guy' when a a beardless Kit walked out? before realize that was Kit?

Yes, in particular in the Nephew Pageant skit.    The no-beard, non-curly haired Kit is a stranger to me. 

[Growsonwalls]

Overall I loved this episode. I thought Kit Harington showed a great sense of humor by appearing in such bizarre skits. The Bachelorette party sketch was very funny, as was the Michael Jackson/Frank Sinatra sketch. I'm actually glad they "went there" with Jacko considering some of the vehement defenders MJ has in the business. 

The opening monologue with all the GoT cameos was cute. One thing: they always joked on GoT about Jon Snow's height. But DAMN seeing him stand next to some of the actors really drove home the point about how short he was. I've actually seen Sara Bareilles up close and she herself is incredibly tiny. Kit is Sara's height? Oh well. He's hot no matter what height. 

My favorite sketch however was Theresa May's with Sara Bareilles singing "She Used to be Mine." Just a great sketch with great musical accompaniment. I loved Sara Bareilles -- very simple, down-to-earth musical presentation. I'm glad she decided to just be herself on SNL. I've seen her concerts and also her as Jenna in Waitress and she's a very down-to-earth, no-frills kind of performer. 

[Joimiaroxeu]

Yeah, ditto comments upthread, if I hadn't been aware ahead of time that guy was Kit Harrington I wouldn't have recognized him. But wow does he bear an amazing resemblance to a young G.W. Bush. He should work on his Texas drawl and get something going in Hollywood on that front.

Heh, I might actually watch GOT: SVU. Despite Olivia Benson.

[Melina22]

This was my favourite episode this season. So many laughs, so much weirdness. The nephew sketch was probably my favorite. I don't watch GOT. If I did, no doubt I would have enjoyed the show even more. 

Here's a first for me, given that I almost invariably FF the musical guests. I LOVED Sara Bareilles, possibly because she reminded me so much of one of my favourite singers, Sarah Harmer. Her singing gave me goosebumps during all 3 songs. 

Lately I'm finding I'm enjoying the recorded segments more than the live ones, maybe because I find the cue card reading so distracting. That said, WU was wonderful tonight, as was the nephew sketch. 

[vb68]

55 minutes ago, Growsonwalls said:

The Bachelorette party sketch was very funny, as was the Michael Jackson/Frank Sinatra sketch. I'm actually glad they "went there" with Jacko considering some of the vehement defenders MJ has in the business. 

Kit really impressed me with the MJ sketch.  It reminded me of something Bruno Mars would do if he was the host.

59 minutes ago, Growsonwalls said:

But DAMN seeing him stand next to some of the actors really drove home the point about how short he was.

Yeah, I agree. A couple of times I couldn't help thing he was so tiny, especially in the striptease sketch. He's still built, though.

I wonder if they asked him to shave the beard for some of the sketches, notably the nephew sketch? He definitely looked that part more without the beard. 

[LuvMyShows]

8 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

This show sometimes has a tough time finishing skits.  But tonight's burlesque skit was nearly perfectly paced starting with the initial conceit, then randomly adding Kate's French burlesque teacher to finish it with the perfect capper "thanks sis."  They just nailed it.

This, 1000x.  I didn't think any of the skits on the show nailed the ending, other than this one, which was the best ending to an SNL skit that I have seen in a long time.  Leslie turns out to be a stranger on the cruise ship and they want to leave the table?  Snore, plus it was already obvious that she was a stranger.  Undercover boss?  Nice twist for the reveal, and good job on the physicality of the exam, but the actual ending where they go ahead with the exam was just so bleh.  Nerds in the office was great when they did their copies-of-the-photo thing, but then it went on and ended so lamely with the guys getting to leave work in the middle of the day and the closing conversation about them having the photos.  It's like their inability to end skits just lets the air out of the great work they have often done during the sketch.  

[rmontro]

For those who haven't seen Game of Thrones, I can't recommend it highly enough.

I liked the MaCaulay Kulkin appearance in the Sinatra show.

In the Prostate Exam sketch (it wasn't about a colonoscopy), at first I thought that Kit was just pretending to be on Undercover Boss to get out of the prostate exam (but I was wrong).

One of the better shows of the season.

[Irlandesa]

8 hours ago, possibilities said:

Madison was a hotbed of lesbian revolution for decades (maybe still is, I don't know), but I can't vouch for the rest of WI.

WI did elect the first lesbian senator too. Still, as a WI native, the joke cracked me up.

I gave up GOT a few season in as I was never a huge fan and something happened, multiple times, that made me tap out.  But it was still shocking to see Kit not only beardless but silly.

Edited April 7, 2019 by Irlandesa

[Ms Blue Jay]

9 hours ago, Camille said:

I actually shrieked with laughter at Benson and Fin's cameo.

Ice-T spoiled that on Twitter.  Now I kind of wish that he didn't.  Yes that was really cool

[possibilities]

I liked the show a lot this week. They didn't just write generic characters and retread already-used punchlines. I have never seen GoT, and I had no idea who Kit Harington is, but the show really lives or dies by the writing, and a good parody will work to some extent even if you don't know the source material, the same way all absurd humor works. I thought everything was some degree of funny, except the monologue which bored me (because it was just one joke over and over again about how all he gets is the same question he can't answer-- similar to the Office monologue they did where everyone wanted a reboot except the host).

I thought this was one of the better installments of SNL this season.

Edited April 7, 2019 by possibilities

[AD35]

5 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

LOVED the GOT spinoffs sketch. And even though I'm done with SVU, I loved Fin and Olivia's cameo. 

Although I haven't watched SVU regularly in years (since Christopher Meloni left) I had to laugh out loud with the surprise cameo of Mariska and  Ice-T.  I wonder if either are fans of the show.  GoT: SVU is one spinoff I would definitely make time to see.

Edited April 7, 2019 by AD35

[ottoDbusdriver]

2 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

I loved Sara Bareilles -- very simple, down-to-earth musical presentation. I'm glad she decided to just be herself on SNL. I've seen her concerts and also her as Jenna in Waitress and she's a very down-to-earth, no-frills kind of performer. 

It was a refreshing change from previous musical guests -- no auto-tune, no dancing bottles of water, no extended moments of silence, no singing like you have a mouth full of marbles (to this day I still have no idea what the hell Greta van Fleet was "singing") -- Sara sounded great.

8 minutes ago, AD35 said:

Although I haven't watched SVU regularly in years (since Christopher Meloni left) I had to laugh out loud with the surprise cameo of Mariska and  Ice-T.  I wonder if either are fans of the show.  GoT: SVU is one spinoff I would definitely make time to see.

The little touches with that bit were just icing on the cake -- the location during Law and Order sound effect (Flea Bottom, East side of Rhaenys' Hill), the police tape they walked past (that was written in Game of Thrones font), and Executive Producer Dire Wolf (mentioned upthread).  It was nicely done.

Don't forget Dorne to be Wild and Westerosworld, and count me in as also wanting to watch Ru Paul's Dragon Race.

[Uncle Benzene]

First I've ever seen or heard of Sara Bareilles and I was impressed, but within the first ten seconds of her first song I could not stop thinking "at some point they ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO have some kind of reveal with Melissa on another piano, with a 'mirror' between them, or something." Hell, there were times when I was wondering if it actually was Melissa. I mean, I get it that Sara Bareilles is a serious musician, and it might have undermined her performance or whatever, but holy crap would that have been funny. I was 100% convinced it was coming in the second number, but nope. 

[helenamonster]

Great episode. Thought Kit was a fun, game host and glad they gave him a lot to do. I wish they wouldn't have made the poor guy use an American accent so much, though, he's clearly not good at it. But he pushed through.

She probably won't anytime soon, but I'd love to see Emilia Clarke host based on her quick cameo. She's got great comedic timing. Her line reading of "Did you know they filmed that?" was pitch perfect.

Mariska and Ice-T! I am floored that they got them to do this.

I haven't followed Sara Bareilles's career very closely, but I've always liked her and am happy that she's been able to maintain such a high level of success. There's something so real about her that's very endearing, like she's just a regular gal who also happens to be this massive star.

[Pete Martell]

2 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

This, 1000x.  I didn't think any of the skits on the show nailed the ending, other than this one, which was the best ending to an SNL skit that I have seen in a long time.  Leslie turns out to be a stranger on the cruise ship and they want to leave the table?  Snore, plus it was already obvious that she was a stranger.  Undercover boss?  Nice twist for the reveal, and good job on the physicality of the exam, but the actual ending where they go ahead with the exam was just so bleh.  Nerds in the office was great when they did their copies-of-the-photo thing, but then it went on and ended so lamely with the guys getting to leave work in the middle of the day and the closing conversation about them having the photos.  It's like their inability to end skits just lets the air out of the great work they have often done during the sketch.  

I felt like they were told "make sure you have an ending" because many sketches don't and just feel sloppy. In episodes like this one I think the sloppiness might have worked better (although I still liked the office sketch). The stripper sketch had the best ending, and was one of the few sketches I've seen that has known what to do with Melissa's flat vocal delivery - my only real complaint is I wish they'd cut Leslie saying, "She's your sister???" since the joke was already very clear. 

3 hours ago, Melina22 said:

This was my favourite episode this season. So many laughs, so much weirdness. The nephew sketch was probably my favorite. I don't watch GOT. If I did, no doubt I would have enjoyed the show even more. 

Here's a first for me, given that I almost invariably FF the musical guests. I LOVED Sara Bareilles, possibly because she reminded me so much of one of my favourite singers, Sarah Harmer. Her singing gave me goosebumps during all 3 songs. 

Lately I'm finding I'm enjoying the recorded segments more than the live ones, maybe because I find the cue card reading so distracting. That said, WU was wonderful tonight, as was the nephew sketch. 

By and large I think the film pieces have been better than the live pieces for a while now, and I feel like that is the real focus for SNL in recent years (probably since Andy Samberg blew up). Last night was an exception for me though in that I ended up enjoying the live bits more (I did enjoy the GoT parodies).

 

6 hours ago, BigPaul25 said:

 WWE has a contract with NBC Universal as they are the parent company of USA Network. I’m old enough to remember Hulk Hogan and Mr. T hosting SNL to promote the very first Wrestlemania.

Hmm. Then I wonder why the appearance wasn't mentioned. Maybe Colin and Michael have this booked as an outside event and those can't be mentioned on the show, as otherwise, it would be unfair to cast members like Kate or Aidy who have movies, TV shows, etc.

[laffytaffy997]

12 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

I haven't watched the whole show yet, but I did see the Biden sketch. I wasn't even sure if they would go there, but I guess the opportunity to get Jason Sudeikis back was there for the taking. 

Naturally some felt the sketch was attacking Biden and others felt they were whitewashing him. I mostly took it as being close to my own view of him - that he is a mostly decent guy who desperately needs to learn how to treat women with more respect. 

Having Leslie Jones come in and give him a grope sort of undercut the point, whatever the point was intended to be, but I did laugh at her calling him "Obama's granddaddy," as that's what he will always be known for by many people. 

It was such a breath of fresh air to have no Trump and no Baldwin as Trump. Even though the writing wasn't the best, Sudeikis really just had such life and energy, and he wasn't doing that smug victory lap of playing himself that some alums do in these stints. 

Anyway, I see that they didn't mention Colin and Michael Che having the upcoming wrestling match. I know some were disappointed about this. Is this one of those moments where SNL/NBC for legal reasons couldn't promote the event?

I wonder if the writers were inspired by this Mulaney bit. Ice T's dialogue reminded me a little of it:

Kit Harington seemed to be very game...and from what I saw, partially undressed much of the time. If Game of Thrones had stripped him off that many times, I might still be watching the show. 

I’m probably one of the few people who has never really watched L&O (I’ve only seen parts of Several episodes). So when they did they SVU bit, I was like “Ice-T really talks like that on the show? I thought mulaney was just exaggerating”