60 MINUTES: Political openings haven’t been the show’s strong suit, and this sketch isn’t changing anything. It avoids really tackling the issues it’s looking at and instead decides to structure everything around lampooning social media, and it doesn’t work very well. GRADE: C
MONOLOGUE: The sequence with Silverman and the audience member is pretty funny, and it’s a good incorporation of the audience into the monologue. Although the rest of the monologue goes on for a bit too long to really deliver the laughs, it delivers nicely for Silverman as a comedian. GRADE: B
THE FAULT IN OUR STARS 2: THE EBOLA IN OUR EVERYTHING: This is a solid parody segment that takes the ebola scare and contextualizes it within a teen romance that involves Hazmat sex. It’s a great concept, and it’s a good sketch. GRADE: B
HEAVEN ROAST: The concept is definitely better here than the execution, especially considering Silverman’s participated in roasts, but again, the key here is how it all plays out. It’s awkward and has a few stumbles–a negative, as roasts hinge upon timing as much as anything else–and the audience doesn’t seem to be in it (save for a laughing Ben Franklin). GRADE: C+
WHITES: Again, a good concept, but this time, the execution is much better (it’s pre-recorded). It doesn’t quite get going, but for such a short sketch, it delivers a good amount of laughs. GRADE: B
FORGOTTEN TV GEMS: Kenan Thompson and his character’s enthusiasm/confusion are the best parts of this sketch, even if the “Supportive Women” segments’ reaction shots are reminiscent of “The Californians”. Also, there’s some Kate McKinnon. We need more. GRADE: B-
WEEKEND UPDATE: First off, the Che-Jost back-and-forth is very stiff and not very funny, but it’s a step in the right direction; when you have two anchors, you need to build up a nice rapport. Garage and Her–Kate McKinnon!–show up to deliver a song with a nice idea, but not enough humor aside from listing a bunch of things and saying they’re women. Thompson’s Al Sharpton makes for some nice malapropisms, though. GRADE: C+
RIVER PERFORMERS: You can tell how the sketch is going when the crowd barely laughs. In fact, the monologue sections are so devoid of jokes that the singing sections are actually more entertaining. GRADE: C-
DRIVING HOME: Good idea at first, but it eventually sputters to a finish after it can’t seem to get the comedy going. Rather, it’s all about saying “Adam Levine” as many times as possible, I guess. GRADE: C
THE DECEMBER GENERATION: Last week’s Beckett/Mooney was fantastic, but this one is a bit middling in terms of sustaining a comedic idea. It isn’t quite sure what it wants to be, and the first half doesn’t lead into anything meaningful. They just don’t embrace the crazy enough here. GRADE: C+
MAROON 5: I’m not really a fan of Maroon 5, and I don’t really have an opinion on either “Animals” or “Maps”. He’s a fine performer, and the songs are fine pop songs. GRADE: C+
VITAMIX: Eh…not funny. Blenders! Expensive! I’m tired. GRADE: C
OVERALL: C
NEXT WEEK: Bill Hader returns, and Hozier performs. I wonder if we’ll see Stefon again, considering he got a fantastic send-off with Meyers.
Photo credit: NBC, Saturday Night Live
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