Probably the most solid show, from beginning to end, in a long time (including musical guest, with the possible exception of the "Cornell University" skit), imo. Kudos to Ariana DeBose for stepping in and bringing some Broadway cred to SNL.
Kind of a middling episode for me. I thought Arianna DeBose was fantastic and her talents a bit wasted as when she did appear in skits she was great, even with little to work with. A few chuckles here and there but nothing stood out for me.
Glad to see SNL was really live last night with hosts, a band and the cast/ audience. Still not sure why they punted in December with Tom Hanks when the omicron is still around but at least they have gotten over that scare. Even the SNL band wasn’t wearing masks while playing last night. Liked last nights musical guest The Bleachers and the basketball skit was funny. They nailed our new mayor Eric Adams and all his bluster. Host Ariana DeBose was fine but she was signed up to promote West Side Story and that ship sank last December.
I didn’t say Hanks was the host but they brought him all the way in to NYC and then punted the show with most of the cast exiting and no audience. Seemed to be an over reaction considering everyone there is vaxxed and tested and mask wearing etc.
Yes. DeBose is going to be a superstar. I missed the first Bleachers song but the second was awesome. Way to nail your chance as a last minute replacement. Best overall episode I have seen for a long time. Even Elmo would agree.
Speaking of Elmo that skit on Weekend Update was lost on me. Guess I don’t follow the Sesame Street gossip close enough!
As others do, I usually fast forward through the musical guests. But for the first time in years, I stuck with Bleachers and was blown away. Finally, SNL had some REAL rock and roll, and those two saxes nailed it. Gonna check them out further. (Also, I thought Chloe was hilarious as Elmo..)
I think the issue in December was a COVID outbreak among the cast and crew, not the general threat of Omicron.
Saw that and started falling asleep throughout the entire show except Weekend Update. Every time I heard a Broadway style singing routine in a skit (Sound Of Music) parody was the final straw, I put it on mute. I don't share other's opinion last night's episode was that entertaining or funny. Didn't much care for the musical act either.
For the potentially uninitiated, Bleachers is Jack Antonoff, arguably the most successful producer of the moment, given his work with Taylor Swift, Lorde, Lana Del Rey, and St. Vincent. His solo stuff is a lot of fun.
I'd never heard of Bleachers, but after a little curiosity Googling I believe the short older guy on the acoustic guitar in this first clip was Jack Antonoff's father Rick.
Yes. I bounced back and forth between this episode of SNL and Wolf Of Wall Street (on Paramount TV, sliced up by ads), and Wolf won out on the comedy by a considerable margin. (Even given the bleeped profanities- and censor boxes over the naughty bits- which mystified me, given that Paramount also hosts weekly episodes of Yellowstone in unexpurgated form, often featuring dodgier content in less than one hour than is found in the entire duration of WoWS .) So most of the time, I stayed with Wolf. (In my critical opinion, Bo Dietl missed his true calling. He's funnier in Wolf than some big-name comedy actors I could mention. Not that I'd trust him to write his own material.) But the SNL guest host opening- featuring Ariana Bebose singing a duet with Kate MacKinnon on a medley of the tunes from West Side Story- was an outstanding performance, by both of them. Kate's performance was a surprise- I knew she could sing, but I didn't realize that she had a voice that big. That she can actually project.
Ariana Debose is extremely talented. However, I thought the show overall was average at best. Still can't stand Update.
Yeah - it was spectacularly bad. I guess people are afraid to tell both McKinnon and Michaels that murdering great Broadway music is not now, nor has it ever been, funny, so they doubled down on desecrating both WSS and SOM in some of the most endlessly tedious bits in the show's history. While comparison's to Eilish's brilliant turn may be unfair, the contrast between last night's dumpster fire and the magnificent last live show last year are stark. The only saving moments were the closing sketch - lurred it! - Che on WU (Jost incredibly unfunny/cringe-inducing last night, but his complete lack of comic skill made Che seem all the funnier, especially as he cracked Jost up), and of course Elmo. Best use of Elmo since Katy Perry!
I was kinda in and out of this episode but thought what I saw of the sketches were pretty good. I pray to God that that Elmo routine on Update doesn't turn into a recurring one but I'll bet it will. Antonoff's side project reeked of E Street for better and for worse. D.D.
LOVE Elmo and cannot get enough, but the E Street comparison is spot on; I feel about Bleachers as you feel about Elmo...
Antonoff idolizes 80’s era Springsteen. He’s said it many times. That’s the sound of Bleachers. Personally I thought they had too much Verb on his vocals, but he likes it that way.
Never heard of Bleachers but did think their first performance sounded an awful lot like Springsteen. Glad to see I wasn't hearing things. I don't like being too harsh with musical acts just starting out with a debut on talk shows and SNL but I really am getting tired of homage bands that sound like what's come before. Why can't they come up with something original? There's another "New Music" thread where the OP is just blown away by new bands' he's posted a Youtube vid of that sounds like boomer rock/pop music. Not surprised by the reaction. I didn't say anything and bowed out of the thread.
This is his third album under this name, and the only one of the three with this sound. The first two were electronic. (He's also on record as a big Sparks fan.) Also, know why the song sounds like Springsteen? Because Springsteen sings on the studio version of the song. Again, this is not some new artist getting his first big break just because you've never heard of him before. New artists don't get Springsteen to guest on their songs. Also, when young artists do original things, people like you claim the old boomer music was better, so...how 'bout you stop worrying about what the kidz are up to?
It was solid episode, some good stuff in there, some lame stuff as well. One new cast member has caught my eye recently: Sarah Sherman. Really enjoyed the Dress Rentals bit with Pete Davidson.
The new WSS movie has some minor legs after theatrical. So a shipwreck visible from shore rather than sunk to the bottom of the ocean. I think "real" stars were avoiding an episode date with too many uncertainties and getting the Paul Rudd/Charlie XCX treatment and no do-over. Ariana was a mildly funny shrug for me and I stuck it out to the end partly because it was the first proper show since Billie. You haven't noticed pro sports teams where 40% vaxxed players with breakthrough cases or all the flights cancelled around Xmas due to staffing shortages?
