I’ve been re-watching “Arrested Development” recently, and one of GOB’s lines stuck with me as I sat through the season premiere of “Saturday Night Live” so that I could write this recap: “I’ve made a huge mistake.”
Why? Why do I do this? Every week it’s more than an hour of my time so that I can watch one funny sketch and maybe a digital short I enjoy, and then I tell everyone, “Hey, it’s not so bad. This is what it always is.”
Anyway, I’ve got video of most of the show on the following pages, and if you don’t want to watch the video (or can’t because it’s Hulu and you’re not in America), here’s the fast version:
- Pro: the writers didn’t take the easy short cut of re-using popular characters or established sketches.
- Con: they did, however, go for cheap laughs (drinking urine, food dumped on someone’s head) in sketches that ran too long.
In general, the show was middling to bad, with a few high notes — pretty much the same as ever. And it looks like I’ll keep pushing this rock up the mountain every week for another year. Yay!
https://www.hulu.com/embed/C9RKCZYHYdg-UxNikN9RIw
My first thought at seeing this video was “Holy sh*t, ELEVEN MINUTES?” A five-minute sketch is too long for me. But there’s some genuinely funny stuff here, from Jason Sudeikis mouthing “I’m white” to Taran Killam’s portrayal of Jon Huntsman as a Chinese stereotype (Hooray for cheap ethnic stereotypes!). The six minutes after that aren’t really worth your time, though.
https://www.hulu.com/embed/pa2u15RqOI7JvQa3—y0w
A complete waste of five minutes unless you like Seth Rogen enough to watch him deliver two lines. Don’t watch this.
https://www.hulu.com/embed/f2H4vg4jbKOsKpgP3lQj-w
Solid. I’ve always enjoyed “SNL’s” fake commercials, and perfume commercials are some of the best to make fun of.
https://www.hulu.com/embed/0ew5_pogPfrRN6wrQ4euYg
I like the premise okay, but it’s essentially the same set-up repeated for four and a half minutes. I do award some points for the AIDS joke, though.
https://www.hulu.com/embed/gshmpyltoGW-qR8q2q57FQ
This one fell flat for me, but I suppose fans of Kristen Wiig or Buffalo accents might like it.
https://www.hulu.com/embed/N7VVR2Q1nlJp5NYfjV6pZA
Not bad. I enjoy using Seth Meyers as a punching bag as much as the next “SNL” critic, but I don’t particularly mind him as the Weekend Update anchor.
https://www.hulu.com/embed/uG0vtc7sPnMhsEWgqIYQFA
Not Alec Baldwin’s finest work on “SNL.”
https://www.hulu.com/embed/dAXeZ1n1_1AISdnJBwHAZw
“Tell my son that a cripple isn’t a full human being.” I thoroughly enjoyed this sketch.
https://www.hulu.com/embed/ut4F3Ou3RVuI3Fg8t1HOEQ
This is a case study in comedic talent. It’s not a particularly original or funny sketch, but Bill Hader and Alec Baldwin are both so good that they make it work.
https://www.hulu.com/embed/rIwaKL1q6T2WO9codgUOCw
Another subpar, too-long sketch that Baldwin almost saves with his performance. The stuff with the tennis jacket got a laugh from me.
https://www.hulu.com/embed/6GfwDuCcMj4GENooLKGLnw
This is just an excuse to use outdated impersonations, yet the execution is good enough that it works for me. Bonus points for being less than three minutes long.
