Emmy Episodes: Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live: Season 47, Episode 21 “Natasha Lyonne / Japanese Breakfast” (B-)

This episode was not my favorite from the three installments I watched this year, which is the smallest sampling of this show I’ve gone through in many years given the show’s minimal showing in the acting categories. This episode, which features past Emmy nominee Natasha Lyonne as its host - who was not nominated this year for season two of “Russian Doll” - marks the ninth and final nomination for Kate McKinnon, who left the show after this finale. I’m sure she could return to host the series, but I feel like a bit of distance is important. Her best years were certainly when she was playing Hillary Clinton, though it was also fun to see her as Rudy Giuliani and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, among others. She dominated the opening sketch as the alien abductee with a very graphic history of what she endured, and having her leave to get on the ship felt like a symbolic goodbye. But she did return, for a dialogue-free appearance in the high school flashback bit and then in the Gray Adult Pigtails bit that closed out the episode. This is not her best showcase and I think she has plenty of competition in her Emmy category with much more to present this year, but she’ll always be an endearing and committed part of this show’s history. Lyonne was strongest in her inappropriate commentator bit, and I guess there’s something to be said for her ability to stay mostly still while being tickled and puppeted around as if her character was still alive. I’m not sure why, but Colin’s comment about the Pennsylvania governor whose face looks like it was photoshopped onto a hot dog had me laughing much more than I expected.

Emmy Episodes: Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live: Season 47, Episode 16 “Jerrod Carmichael / Gunna” (B)

I think I’ve only had two experiences with Jerrod Carmichael. The first was the pilot for “The Carmichael Show,” which I didn’t love, and the second was his directorial debut, “On the Count of Three,” which debuted at Sundance at the start of 2021 and was finally released this past May. That was a terrific film, and so I’m happy in that sense to see him honored as the one and only male SNL host nominated this year, the first solo representative in the Emmy comedy guest actor category for the show in a full decade. In terms of his actual hosting job, there wasn’t anything wrong with it, but I also didn’t find it too extraordinary. It was probably unfortunate for him to have to be burdened with all the comedy about the slap, which dominated the episode. Replaying the scene almost as it happened with Chris Redd felt a bit excessive but had some elements of humor, and I think what I preferred was the Trump “Hitch has arm” nonsense. Talking in his monologue about how he has to be the least famous host in SNL history and addressing his coming out in his special were nice touches that I think give him an endearing factor more than a funny one. He is certainly funny, but this episode didn’t give him all that much opportunity. Kate McKinnon was the best part of the “Is My Brain Okay” sketch, and the dumping-bodies-without-cremating them bit was more random than anything else. Though I know the show targets Trump endlessly, I did find myself surprisingly amused by him spewing contradictory comments like how he doesn’t like the “p” at the end of “coup” before repeatedly admitting everything.

Emmy Episodes: Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live: Season 47, Episode 3 “Rami Malek / Young Thug” (B)

I’m used to watching a number of episodes of this long-running variety series every year when it earns numerous supporting and guest Emmy acting nominations. But this year, only three performers are in the running, so it’s a much smaller sampling than I’m used to. This is the submission for Bowen Yang, back for his second consecutive nomination and the only cast member contending in the supporting actor race. He does have some fantastic material, including two sketches where he basically gets to own the entire bit. Playing Daddy Longlegs shows just how much he’s able to take control and earn all of the laughs from an otherwise unspectacular segment. Getting to play George Takei was also fun for him, and in his third scene, he was the straight man in a humorous bed-shopping bit with Aidy Bryant and host Rami Malek. I’d say that the Daddy Longlegs sketch is a clear standout, rivaling his iceberg-that-sunk-the-Titanic from last year, though it’s likely not enough for him to win. I will say that I enjoyed Malek’s hosting job since I think he managed to be funnier than I had expected, and it was also entertaining to see him and Pete Davidson playing each other. Daniel Craig popping by for a few cameo appearances was also a nice treat since it shows that they seem to have a good relationship fostered by their co-starring together in last year’s Bond hit, and Craig’s final outing as the secret agent, “No Time to Die.”

Emmy Episodes: Saturday Night Live

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the sixth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week. 

Saturday Night Live: Season 46, Episode 20 “Host: Anya Taylor-Joy” (B)

It was interesting to have this episode open with the cast members standing together addressing the audience and looking back on the year not in character, and it’s a shame that they didn’t have Bowen Yang join the four other Emmy nominees who happened to be grouped on stage. Having only screened eight other episodes, it doesn’t seem like I missed all that much. I was pleased to see Anya Taylor-Joy as a host since I was a big fans of her in “The Queen’s Gambit” as well as in the film “Thoroughbreds,” and she has another film currently screening at film festivals, “Last Night in Soho.” Signing off before the first commercial in Spanish was a nice touch, and I like that there wasn’t a parody of her Emmy-nominated show since she seemed perfectly game for any sketch. There wasn’t much that was all that memorable from her, and I think her not laughing at Aidy Bryant during the Brawn Bar bit was probably most impressive. She did not earn an Emmy nomination for this episode, of course, but Cecily Strong did. I like her a lot because of “Schmigadoon,” and I was disappointed to see her only briefly outside her Jeanine Pirro impression. That was definitely funny, and she’s great at it, but it wasn’t quite as substantive as I might have liked. The Hollywood Squares with everyone being cancelled didn’t aim too high, and the joke-swapping during Weekend Update was pretty standard since I’ve seen that game a few times now. The father holding a gun for the prom picture was funniest for his daughter and her boyfriend’s insistence that they would still have sex, and the human woman team examining the human man design managed to turn immaturity into entertaining absurdity. I should note that NYU does not have a “film studies” department, but that’s okay, and I thoroughly enjoyed the Vin Diesel invitation back to the movies that highlighted, among other things, how the holes in the trash cans are just slightly too small.

Emmy Episodes: Saturday Night Live

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the sixth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Saturday Night Live: Season 46, Episode 17 “Host: Carey Mulligan” (B)

I’m a big fan of Carey Mulligan and would love to have seen her win the Oscar for “Promising Young Woman.” She does manage to blend comedy and drama very well, though I think her material is usually a bit more sophisticated than what’s present on this show. The Star Trek sketch, for instance, wasn’t anything great, and while I did find the Letters from War bit entertaining if a bit random, there wasn’t all that much for her to do on it. That was true also for the Leggs hosiery sketch with Aidy Bryant, which had a few laughs in there, and the opening monologue where her husband showed up trying to be the musical guest, a job already reserved for Kid Cudi, who I got to know as an actor in a very traditional role on “We Are Who We Are.” I did enjoy the “What’s Wrong with This Picture” sketch, especially since Kenan got so upset that everyone kept saying wrong answers, and even though it came from out of nowhere, the “Weird Little Flute” music video was very funny. The Lesbian Period Drama trailer was fantastic, and so fitting in how it parodied “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and “Ammonite.” This episode is, of course, the Emmy submission for Bowen Yang, whose Iceberg That Sunk the Titanic performance was so hyped for me that it didn’t exactly wow me. He’s fun and clearly talented, but it didn’t hold up to what I had expected given all the praise heaped upon him.

Emmy Episodes: Saturday Night Live

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the sixth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Saturday Night Live: Season 46, Episode 16 “Host: Daniel Kaluuya” (B+)

Daniel Kaluuya really impressed me in this episode. I knew the actor was talented, as evidenced by the performance in “Judas and the Black Messiah” that, a few weeks after this episode aired, won him the Oscar, as well as the other work the young actor has done over the past few years, including “Get Out” and a personal favorite of mine, “Widows.” What surprised me here is how up for every single sketch he was, ready to jump into any role and actually be funny in a way that hosts don’t often manage to pull off. Some of the skits he was saddled with, like him being a host where he needed people to guess the right answer taking the vaccine, were better in concept than execution, but he was game for it all. I particularly enjoyed his British dog voice that got the other two people in the park upset, and his continued insistence on activities with the moms of his frat brothers. I wasn’t so big on the other sketches he was in, but, again, he did very well and is absolutely deserving of his Emmy nomination for guest actor in a comedy series. He wasn’t as funny as he was as Andrew Cuomo, but Pete Davidson’s Matt Gaetz was a close runner-up, and the Florida congressman was also the subject of some pointed jokes at his expense during Weekend Update. I’m not quite sure why, but Alex Moffat’s Guy Who Just Bought a Boat had me cracking up with his speedily-delivered series of double entendres. I like seeing players who are very much able to do a particular bit and execute it very well.

Emmy Episodes: Saturday Night Live

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the sixth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Saturday Night Live: Season 46, Episode 15 “Host: Maya Rudolph” (B-)

It’s strange to think of Maya Rudolph as a guest on this show since she’s appeared in all but one of the episodes from this season that I’ve watched so far, but this is apparently only the second time she’s ever hosted. Her Kamala Harris is consistently entertaining and a bit livelier and more creative than the Joe Biden impersonations by Jim Carrey and Alex Moffat. The casting of Martin Short, an actor I’ve recently been enjoying quite a bit on Hulu’s new series “Only Murders in the Building,” was a fun choice to play her husband Doug, though that sketch got a little off-track pretty quickly. I do enjoy seeing Aidy Bryant’s Ted Cruz, who is always funny and oddly spot-on. I don’t know where it came from, but Pete Davidson singing NFT lyrics to Eminem was an unexpected delight. He’s been one of my favorite players since I saw him in non-SNL projects “Big Time Adolescence” and “The King of Staten Island,” and it’s great to see him take on something like this that feels like it’s out of his normal routine. I was also pleased to see Bowen Yang doing his own bit since I’ve heard so much about him but he hasn’t been too prominently featured yet this season (his submitted episode is coming up soon on my watchlist). The Maya-ing sketch felt somewhat appropriate as a way to hark back to Rudolph’s history on the show, though that concept has certainly been done to death. I like Rudolph but I don’t think this is the best work on this show she’s done.

Emmy Episodes: Saturday Night Live

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the sixth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Saturday Night Live: Season 46, Episode 13 “Host: Regé-Jean Page” (B)

It is always really a trip watching this show so many months after each episode airs, getting outdated news that often feels funnier in the context of what’s happened since then. Pete Davidson’s Andrew Cuomo, for instance, wasn’t so big on apologizing, and some might now see his resignation as a way of owning up to what he’s done, while others with surely take the accompanying denials of any wrongdoing as confirmation that he just isn’t willing to apologize for anything anyone believes he has done wrong. Another equally self-righteous individual is Ted Cruz, as hilariously portrayed by Aidy Bryant in that same opening sketch. That was a strong open for Bryant, who smartly chose this episode as her Emmy submission. She’s back in the race after a nomination for this show three years ago, and also contends in the leading category for her fantastic performance in “Shrill.” The only negative of this episode is that she’s not in all that much of it, but she was fun in the competition to get host Regé-Jean Page’s affection during his monologue. I just finished watching “Bridgerton,” and so it’s fun to see Page lean into other roles and a number of decent, slightly different American accents. I did like one where he used his natural voice and Kenan played Ice Cube pretending to be British, and he seemed generally game to do whatever he was asked in any sketch. The “Bridgerton” intimacy coordinator bit wasn’t all that creative, but direct parodies of a host’s show are rarely the best part of any episode of this series.

Emmy Episodes: Saturday Night Live

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the sixth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Saturday Night Live: Season 46, Episode 11 “Dan Levy” (B+)

Now here’s a host I can get behind. As anyone who reads this site regularly knows, I wasn’t the biggest fan of “Schitt’s Creek,” but I do like Dan Levy and I’m happy to see him portraying a role other than the one that he played on that show. I didn’t even realize until the episode ended that there wasn’t a sketch featuring David, and I think that’s a testament to how funny Levy is and how he didn’t need to rely on a character he had already done enough with, instead fully ready to be part of whatever sketch fit better with this show. His opening tour of the studio wasn’t all that spectacular, but it was peppered by humorous social distancing policing from the hilarious Aidy Bryant, who had a few other great moments in this episode, and an appearance by his father Eugene Levy, who was apparently confined to a box since he had just gotten off a plane. The studio lot tour where he was constantly telling inappropriate anecdotes was pretty great, and he paired perfectly with Cecily Strong for the Broadway sports song sketch. I also enjoyed his participation in the It Gets Better anniversary sketch, though Kate McKinnon talking about her iguana was probably the highlight of that. The two of them were superb praising the bride and then refusing to actually object during a wedding, and I like that the bit ended with them being attracted to the groom for finally standing up to them. The toddlers getting cancelled on Weekend Update was a bit random but entertaining, and the SuperBowl sketch with everyone getting together and getting COVID was pretty on-point and amusing.

Emmy Episodes: Saturday Night Live

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the sixth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Saturday Night Live: Season 46, Episode 9 “Host: Kristen Wiig” (B-)

There’s a stark difference in how hosts are incorporated into each of the sketches when they used to be regular players on the show, and it’s very obvious that Kristen Wiig feels completely at home here. This isn’t her first nomination – she contended four times when she was on the show and then twice as host, back four years after her most recent bid, which was four years after the previous one. I do like Wiig but she also has a very particular style to most of her characters, with one especially familiar face popping up at the very end of the episode, Sue, the woman who gets so nervous about surprises that she can’t help but spoil them. Her funniest bit may have been the one opposite Bowen Yang where they switched gender roles for the USO song. Teaming her up with Maya Rudolph and Kate McKinnon made for an entertaining if over-the-top opener, and what I noticed more than anything was how prominently-featured Rudolph was in this episode, which of course spells Emmy trouble for Wiig since Rudolph is both the defending champ and a fellow nominee this year who also hosts her own episode. On another note, this definitely was not the best instance of Colin Jost and Michael Che writing jokes for the other to say without seeing them first, though I’d also argue they’re far from the best Weekend Update team this show has had, even in my very limited screening experience. I think I enjoyed Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers best but, again, I haven’t seen all that much given the incredible volume of content this show has produced in its forty-six-year history.

Emmy Episodes: Saturday Night Live

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the sixth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Saturday Night Live: Season 46, Episode 6 “Host: Dave Chappelle” (B)

Four years ago, when Trump was actually elected as president, Dave Chappelle hosted this show and won an Emmy for the gig. What I noticed about his opening monologue here was that it was incredibly long and he was basically left to his own devices, smoking on stage and unleashing a number of harsh truths about how America works that others would surely have avoided. As the second installment of the show that I’ve watched from its forty-sixth season, I would say it was an improvement over Bill Burr’s similarly political but far less nuanced and effective hosting job in episode two, though I don’t think most of Chappelle’s bits were all that funny. He could easily win again just for that extended monologue, and for bringing a dramatic bent to a typically unserious show. This is also Kenan Thompson’s submission, which is puzzling to me since the actor, who is also nominated for performance in the sitcom “Kenan” this year, has very little to do over the course of the episode. Responding to the brothers’ harrowing tale of bodily injury during the video game retrospective and playing Uncle Ben aren’t substantial uses of his talent, and this definitely pales in comparison to his submission from last year. Watching Kate McKinnon as Rudy Giuliani was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed the rundown of how mail-in ballots needed to be carefully vetted if they had a return address on Mars and if they were in fact tortillas, as well as the repeated references to the Four Seasons mishap.

Emmy Episodes: Saturday Night Live

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the sixth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Saturday Night Live: Season 46, Episode 2 “Host: Bill Burr” (B-)

I always look forward to my annual very delayed viewing of a sampling of episodes of this show, which this year amounts to nine separate installments due to the wealth of supporting players and hosts nominated. I don’t love the show but do find it entertaining at times. I enjoyed Bill Burr’s performance in “The King of Staten Island,” and found him mildly funny on “The Mandalorian.” His opening monologue was more cringe-worthy than anything else, since he was casually joking about how ridiculous concepts like cancel culture and white women being at the forefront of the woke movement are when most of the audience didn’t necessarily agree with that assessment, given the show’s liberal bent. Most of the sketches he starred in were extensions of the same joke, which is that the world has changed and what used to be acceptable no longer is, which all just made Burr seem less than relevant. Burr, of course, was not nominated for an Emmy, but instead this is the submission for longtime nominee Kate McKinnon, who won twice in a row back when Trump got elected. The likelihood of her triumphing again is not high, especially given the double nomination for costar Aidy Bryant and the prominence of her other costar Cecily Strong, who just wrapped a great gig on “Schmigadoon.” McKinnon was funny but not front-and-center as the moderator in the opening sketch, and it was interesting to see her break character and directly address the audience when Colin asked her by name if she was okay during the Weekend Update bit. She did make me laugh when she repeatedly mispronounced expressions unlike “unpresidented” and “noon normal,” but this is far from her best submission.

Emmy Episodes: Saturday Night Live

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the fifth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Saturday Night Live: Season 45, Episode 17 “SNL at Home #2” (B-)

This is one of three installments of this show produced during the pandemic, originally aired at the end of April. While being in the same room is of course valuable to variety players, this format actually shows which of them are most talented and which just can’t quite communicate their abilities as well when they’re the only ones on camera. Kate McKinnon, for instance, is fantastic, delivering tremendously as the standout of this episode in the cat sketch and also with Aidy Bryant, who did fine in the lackluster journal bit, in the supermarket commercial where they were trying to sell overstocked items that were absolutely ridiculous. Kenan Thompson chose this episode as his Emmy submission for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, and he knows how to work with the material he’s given, doing better with the Dominican lunch cooking class and as O.J. Simpson than the overlong song he sang towards the beginning of the episode. Brad Pitt is also an Emmy nominee for his very brief appearance in the cold open as Dr. Fauci, and while it’s a decent impersonation, it’s hardly worthy of that praise both for its depth and its (lack of) length. Adam Sandler was a welcome guest in Pete Davidson’s musical sketch, while it wasn’t nearly as clear why Charles Barkley or DJ Khaled needed to appear rather than one of the other cast members playing them. It was also strange to see Paul Rudd, even if he tends to usually be endearing. The forgetting-name sketch wasn’t a slam dunk by any stretch, but Kyle Mooney also demonstrated his ability to act opposite himself and others.

Emmy Episodes: Saturday Night Live

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the fifth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Saturday Night Live: Season 45, Episode 15 “Host: Daniel Craig” (B)

This was the last live episode of this show produced, and the show actually took a full month off before it returned with the first of three at-home installments, one of which I’m planning to review since it features Emmy-nominated appearances from Brad Pitt and Kenan Thompson. This episode is the submission for Kate McKinnon, who earns her seventh consecutive nomination. It’s not the most impressive work she’s done, mainly because her characters aren’t as great as they’ve been in the past. Opening with her playing Laura Ingraham and then switching to dress like Elizabeth Warren while standing next to the real-life senator and former presidential candidate was fun, especially since you can tell that she’s doing a lot of work to act like Warren. Her only other real notable moment was in the “Sands of Modesto” scene where host Daniel Craig pulled a sheet of plastic wrap over her so that he wouldn’t be coming into direct contact. This episode was all about making fun of coronavirus, and while I wouldn’t say any of the humor is particularly offensive, it also hasn’t aged that well since evidently no one then had any concept of what things would be like now. Rachel Dratch playing Debbie Bowner with a N95 mask at the punishment table at a wedding talking about asymptomatic transmission was the best instance of this, though it was admittedly entertaining. Cecily Strong’s party girl who just wanted to put her hands in Michael Che’s mouth was a solid use of her talents, and it’s not easy to write an entire monologue with that many errors purposely put into it. Craig was somewhat funny in the fake Bond clip, the cooking show bit, and the Southern-accent-turned-vomiting-on-command sketch. I didn’t see the point of the “deep quote” game sketch, and ending with the revolting “overnight salad” didn’t provide the strongest finish.

Emmy Episodes: Saturday Night Live

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the fifth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Saturday Night Live: Season 45, Episode 11 “Host: Adam Driver” (B)

Banner years are one of the main reasons that performers are chosen to host this show, and that was certainly the case last year for Adam Driver, who earned an Oscar nomination for “Marriage Story,” starred in “The Report,” and was seen by infinitely more people in the final chapter of the current “Star Wars” trilogy, “The Rise of Skywalker.” This isn’t his first time hosting but it’s my first time seeing him, and I was honestly surprised. He was more energetic and participatory than I had expected, combating his public persona of not liking clips being played of him and engaging with audience members to poke fun at himself. The opening sketch with Jon Lovitz as Alan Dershowitz being summoned to hell so that Kate McKinnon’s devil could meet him was cringe-worthy for its multiple awkward Jeffrey Epstein references, but things got better from there. He was game for what was required of him in the flushing conversation and the taking-it-slow bit, and I think he was best in the “Undercover Boss” parody that had him playing Kylo Ren again. I’ve been enjoying Aidy Bryant’s performance on “Shrill” and it’s clear that, like McKinnon, she’s up for just about anything and capable of plenty even if the scripts aren’t great. It’s also good to see Kenan Thompson, who earned his second Emmy nomination this year but submitted a different episode for consideration, standing out in sketches like the vengeful knight one, making the most of a concept that’s not all that hilarious.

Emmy Episodes: Saturday Night Live

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the fifth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Saturday Night Live: Season 45, Episode 10 “Host: Eddie Murphy” (B+)

This episode serves as the official Emmy submission for three different players. The first is of course host Eddie Murphy, making a return to the show that made him famous thirty-four years later. Like Adam Sandler last year, he was greeted enthusiastically by many fans and had an opportunity to reprise some of his roles to much excitement and laughter from the current players. Having Tracy Morgan, Chris Rock, and Dave Chappelle all stop by helped to amplify the significance of his return to the show, and he had the chance to completely steal the Weekend Update from Colin Jost and Michael Che by appearing as Gumby. His best performance was in Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood where he educated the audience about squatter’s rights, gentrification, and how to bail out the window when an apparent offspring shows up to meet his father. Cecily Strong earned her first Emmy bid this year as a member of this ensemble, and she got the chance in this episode to play two political figures, Tulsi Gabbard and Jeanine Pirro. The latter was most impressive, reminiscent of Kate McKinnon’s RBG pouring Emergen-C powder into her mouth when she kept vomiting up wine on Colin. It wasn’t the most formidable showcase overall, but it was still fun. And then we have Maya Rudolph, who earned a nomination for this show and for “The Good Place” in the same category, and who benefits from the best possible timing of Kamala Harris being announced as Joe Biden’s running mate right before final Emmy voting begins. She is pretty terrific, and she also gets to appear in a brief spot as Eddie’s wife in a “Home for the Holidays” sketch. Overall, this episode was punctuated by funny sketches but brought down by lackluster parodies of “Nailed It!” and “The Masked Singer,” two shows that don’t necessarily need to be mocked since they’re already not all that serious.

Emmy Episodes: Saturday Night Live

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the fifth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Saturday Night Live: Season 45, Episode 2 “Host: Phoebe Waller-Bridge” (B+)

I’m not always overly fond of this show but I’m definitely on board to give it a try when someone I really like is hosting. I knew that Phoebe Waller-Bridge was on the Emmy ballot for her guest spot on “Run,” which I enjoyed, but of course she ended up getting in for this show instead (unlike fellow nominee Maya Rudolph, who earned bids both for “The Good Place” and “Saturday Night Live”). I was a big fan of the first season of “Fleabag” and then didn’t get to watching season two until after it scored major Emmy bids across the board, and once again I’m late to the party after Waller-Bridge has already been nominated for another Emmy following her three victories last year. Her opening monologue was and felt very much like her brand of comedy, acknowledging the many genitals in the room, and I wasn’t sure how she’d be in sketches. There was nothing extremely funny about any of the characters she played, though she was entertaining enough in the black criminal versus white criminal news anchor battle (which aged interestingly) and the war letters sketch, which worked pretty well even if it was ridiculous. I would have nominated Waller-Bridge for “Run” instead though I’m not annoyed about her inclusion since I do like her. That closing bit where every cast member couldn’t control their laughter while they were pretending to be mad in the bar was enjoyable even if they were frequently breaking character, but that’s part of the fun of this show. Kate McKinnon impressed as usual as Elizabeth Warren making donor thank you calls during Weekend Update, and my favorite part of the episode was Mikey Day playing supercentenarian Mort Fellner, who got Colin Jost to walk into every one of his lines that ended with someone dead.

Emmy Episodes: Saturday Night Live

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the fourth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Saturday Night Live: Season 44, Episode 20 “Host: Emma Thompson” (B-)

I’m a big fan of Emma Thompson, and she’s had a great year with an intense dramatic role on HBO’s “Years and Years” and as a late-night host in the fantastic and very funny movie, “Late Night,” which was just released on Amazon Prime. She felt immediately comfortable and genuinely excited when she came out to do her monologue, and was generous right away by bringing Tina Fey and Amy Poehler up to join her for her Mother’s Day bit. While she’s undeniably great, the sketches were mostly slapstick and over-the-top, like her training Leslie Jones to be a civilized guest at the royal wedding and smacking her multiple tickets, competing with Kate McKinnon’s actress, and the costume-heavy “Beauty and the Beast” musical number. She’s great and likeable, but this isn’t her best work. I actually enjoyed other pieces of this episode more, like the opening with Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, and Susan Collins being asked what could possibly eventually make them not support Trump. This show has actually had an easier time with its political humor lately because of the state of our government, and it’s nice to see some creativity presented in conjunction with the Weekend Update featuring of straight Trump clips. Pete Davidson describing how his mom lives with him and then bringing her out was fun too. The closing parody of the infamous “Game of Thrones” coffee cup was most entertaining, with this being a great case of leaning extensively into exaggeration to make a point.

Emmy Episodes: Saturday Night Live

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the fourth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Saturday Night Live: Season 44, Episode 19 “Host: Adam Sandler” (B+)

So many people have hosted SNL over the forty-four seasons it has produced, and there’s always a special place for the former cast members who come back to the show after many years away. Adam Sandler has always been popular, but he hasn’t done much in recent years, and his newest upcoming effort, “Uncut Gems,” is supposed to be a real dramatic departure. Opening with him singing a song about getting fired was a perfect introduction, and what ensued was typical Sandler fare, like screaming in a music video and a combatant in Tripoli all too amused by a Snapchat filter. Playing himself at a Sandler family reunion where all of his relatives were clearly fodder for his movie characters was funny, and, though his delivery was dry, the commercial for the Italian tour that won’t change who you are was extremely entertaining. Singing a tribute to Chris Farley was sweet, and his best showcase was as Opera Man during Weekend Update, where he kept everyone laughing with his musical takedowns of current events. A win for him wouldn’t be surprising at all, as he’s clearly the sentimental choice who delivered exactly what people expected from him and was funny doing it. The opening “Avengers” vs. “Game of Thrones” Family Feud sketch was funny if somewhat predictable, and definitely timely even if I’m watching it a few months after it originally aired. Kate McKinnon playing Elizabeth Warren on Weekend Update and mocking all the other Democratic candidates was a highlight of the episode.

Emmy Episodes: Saturday Night Live

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the fourth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Saturday Night Live: Season 44, Episode 16 “Host: Sandra Oh” (B-)

Sandra Oh is on fire right now, having taken home a Golden Globe and a SAG Award for her lead performance in the show “Killing Eve” and looking likely to top that off with an Emmy win for that same role. Hosting SNL couldn’t come at a better time for him, and after a so-so opening with her not being able to accept compliments, she displayed an extraordinary willingness to inhabit whatever role she got in each sketch. Her performance in the duel movie was probably the best showcase of her talents as she got repeatedly hit by stray bullets fired accidentally by the two men fighting for her affection. Her future girlfriend who owned Samsung wasn’t quite as endearing, and her roles in the Kate McKinnon kiss sketch, the Cheques commercial, the Jarvis Fillmore bit, and the closing substitute teacher scene weren’t terribly central or memorable. She still did pretty well, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she won. The other Emmy nominee for this episode makes less sense, and that’s Robert De Niro, who, earlier in the season, excited fans when he first appeared as Robert Mueller and got to have a laugh opposite Ben Stiller’s Michael Cohen. For some reason, the guest acting nominee chose this episode as the best showcase of his work, likely because it provides a pretty direct parody of the person he’s mocking. A win for him would prove voters don’t really watch the episodes but rank instead on how much they like the actors, since the other three nominees from his show did much better.