Saturday Night Live (SNL) 2020-2021 46th Season Thread

It does seem like more of Update than ever is given over to the guests, though that could be the usual “it’s not like it used to be” distortion that affects SNL memories. Considering that Jost and Che have to split the jokes, unlike some earlier Update performers, you’d think they’d want more of the segment to be about them instead of stopping three times to bring on cast who get plenty of other opportunities to perform.

 

Yeah, you would think they’d see it that way. And there must be plenty of folks like me who generally find that WU is really the only consistently funny part of the show these days.

It doesn’t help that the stuff they interrupt with is almost always suffering from the biggest problem one can encounter in comedy: It’s just not funny.

 

St. Vincent would have been HUGE in the 80's. Love her now - but she's making a sound that Devo referred to as "New wave and brave."

She's beautiful AND a weirdo - gotta love that part too.

Here's a concert she for David Letterman:


And her remix for Beck's Uneventful Days was great too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noVPMGTN_RQ

The dream for me would be for her AND Beck to be happy and them make a funky/upbeat record.

 

The Ebersol era would frequently have a one or two jokes, then a guest, and repeat. Update was 15 minutes long, last night. I'm sure they got in the requisite number of jokes.

 

Except for Alex Moffat's "Guy Who Bought A Boat" segment. ALWAYS FUNNY to me at least.

 

Yeah, that isn’t bad. But like I said....

 

I must confess, I’ve missed most of this season’s episodes, usually by dozing off in the first 20 minutes. Too bad they wasted Daniel Kaluuya, he was an appealing host. And why do half of their sketches use the same old worn out framing devices (celebrity talk show, game show, awkward gathering of people in someone’s living room). St. Vincent was fantastic.

 

Because their Current Writers lack any creative talent with the exception of the rare skit every 3-4 episodes(like OJ Simpson on a Blind Date after he was released from prison from a few seasons ago)?

 

Respectfully, I don't agree. Moffat in general is someone that I can't for the life of me figure out how he got on the show. I'd really like to see his audition to see what he did that made Loren say yes.

 

Easily my favorite episode this season. I actually laughed out loud a few times. I thought St. Vincent was fantastic. Loved the background singers, the entire production. I could watch her for days.

 

There are a few cut for times sketches up on Youtube. I liked this one..

 

St.Vincent was very good but I thought the rest of the episode was weak.

 

I'm wondering if it's Kate McKinnon's clout pushing for feature sketch regardless of quality. She did a WU guest segment in 2020 as a bearded male euro doctor doing bad vaccine jokes that clearly went 1-2 mins over her allotted time - despite being my vote for worst bit I remember from this season. She gets $25k per episode, which is quite a bit more than others..

When they took month off they aired a 2018 episode with Arcade Fire performing. I took it as a partial admission that several past episodes this season are not worth re-airing in a prime time block - here's a 3 year old one instead.

Another reason for WU guests is practical for off camera crew. Adding 4-5 minutes of the show only needs a wig and wardrobe, instead of another set change.

It's a way of having 3-4 newsworthy public figures featured without giving them full skits. Plus they can recycle the "Britney" or " Warwick" sets without building new ones.

Her intentional obtuse-ness is her strength, rather than weakness.

 

I thought from the first St. Vincent performance through WU to the end was good. I thought it got off to a slow start but recovered nicely. St. Vincent stole the show really. She was on Austin City Limits recently that I have been meaning to watch.

 

Totally agree. I'm not a big St. Vincent fan, but I was really, really impressed with her. Both performances seemed like something that you would have seen back in the 70's. There was a theatrical element to both that's rarely been seen for years (decades?). I thought both were very Bowie.

 

More and more, when we actually sit and watch SNL, it's almost a game of 'Who's That??' We don't know who the guest hosts are, we don't know who the musical guests are and we don't get any of the references. All it does is remind me that popular culture is rapidly passing me by. I s'pose I should just give up at this point and watch NCIS reruns and Joe Namath Medicare commercials like a good little senior. I need to stop watching SNL, not just because it's not very funny anymore (and it's not) but because it makes me feel old! Sigh....

 

I found the most recent episode of SNL to be a complete dud even Weekend Update was a disappointment

 

Exactly. Someone on another thread - a longtime Annie Clark fan - recently pointed out that she seemed to be in what the poster termed her "Young Americans" phase. Regardless of what one may think of the comparison, her visual homage to the era was artfully staged, without feeling painfully obvious or overly contrived (see 2016 Grammys' Lady Gaga), compellingly framing her performances. The quality of the two new tracks (off the upcoming Daddy's Home album) she and her band debuted didn't hurt either. Easily the best SNL musical performance of the season thus far, imho.

 

Do you not read/watch the news at all? That should cover the opening sketch and Update at the absolute least.

Half of the sketch may be cultural signposts for young people or other demographics that aren't SH prime fan base. I do think many sketches aim for a universal appeal of some kind. I can laugh at some shows from the "classic years" even if reference points are over my head and many full episodes on those 70's DVDs can be a slog to finish.

Higher than usual Ratings are proof viewers think it's funny. Sports prove it's not a captive viewership phenomenon.

BTW, Bowie was a fan of St. Vincent judging by the signed guitar she got in 2015. Plus I think Mike Garson was on her first album and the indirect Polyphonic Spree connection.

SV was top 3 or 4 this year, but I still put Bruce/Dua Lipa higher.

 

I wasn't gonna say anything but here goes... No I meant actual ability, especially as a guitarist. I am perfectly capable of understanding obtuseness. I do feel that she showed me way more this past week than ever before. A quantum leap even. But, I'm more than 99% certain that her vocal and guitar parts were tracks. She was a tiny bit late on every chord change (something perhaps only a musician would notice) and her long held note on the first song was almost certainly assisted. It was too even in the middle, as if it had been sampled and spit out of a buffer.

Honestly, as a guitarist... she's serviceable. She can clearly learn a part. But I don't get a sense that she knows how to make the instrument speak the way a true master does. Nearly every city has locals who could eat her lunch as a guitarist. And I'm not speaking of shredding or anything sophomoric like that. Just the ability to communicate deeply with the instrument. The solo on the second song honestly was scratch throw away level stuff. The kind of thing any competent producer would insist on redoing at some point. She probably should have let Jason Falkner take the solo. He's the real deal. He once opened for a band I played in at the Doll House. He was spectacular.

 

Gaga's Bowie tribute wasn't great, but I don't think comparisons between that performance and St. Vincent on "SNL" seem fair.

Gaga did a formal tribute, whereas Clark offered a subtle homage. She didn't attempt a tribute where she played Bowie songs, so it's apples/oranges, IMO!

 

Good point, though I still think it was one of Gaga’s less well-executed moments (and I like Gaga a lot!).

 

Yeah, I can't disagree.

I won't claim to be SHF Gaga Fan #1, but given how little competition I have... maybe I am!

I've probably seen her live more than anyone else on the SHF - closing in on 40 shows.

And the Bowie tribute was... not so good. Rare to see one favorite artist pay tribute to another, and it didn't quite work.

Didn't she have only a little time to prepare? Can't remember the circumstances.

Okay, I'll stop making excuses for her. Maybe it was just one of those off nights!

EDIT: just watched Gaga's Bowie tribute and... yeah, not good.

Her voice just doesn't work for those songs, and the medley format feels too much like something from a 70s variety show.

 

This is known as the Roland Stone Theory of SNL Aging:

In your thirties, you no longer know (or like) the musical guest.

In your forties, you no longer know who the host is.

In your fifties, you no longer know what they're making fun of, except Weekend Update.

In your sixties and beyond, you can no longer stay up that late without paying for it all day Sunday, so you skip it.

 

Because their sketches have to take place on a living room sized set, and, without using some sort of video trickery, all of the actors have to stay in that tiny space for the duration of the sketch?