I do my weekly DVR Purges, but let's be frank: they are crap. I don't proofread them at all most weeks. They're collections of scattered thoughts that barely even make sense a week later. What I've decided to do is, with most of these shows I watch taking a break, reflect on where I stand with them, assessing what is in the show's favor (assets) and what could get it in trouble (liabilities).
Now, not every show I watch will be included. In general, I'm sticking to shows that I've kept notes (be them from Purges or otherwise) as I've watched. That means, shows like The Bridge, Looking, Sherlock, and Dexter will not be included. To get my thoughts on those, ask me. This project, supposing I stay on schedule should take all month and I hope it does a good job summing up where these shows stand. In some cases, I'm hoping to convince you to start watching. Other times, it'll be nothing more than a postmortem for a show that's gone.
I hope you enjoy.
Favorite Episode(s): "Lena Dunham/The National" & "Louis CK/Sam Smith"
Good Hosts: There's nothing better than a good host for SNL. One that the writers like to write for and have ideas for, one who doesn't look nervous or like he didn't practice enough, one who lets the regulars shine if the sketch calls for it. When that happens, you get Lena Dunham, Louis CK, or Jimmy Fallon's episodes. Dunham was absolutely fantastic in her episode: someone the writers clearly had fun with. CK was much looser than his first time and had fun with his weird delivery of non-stand-up lines. I love when an SNL alum hosts because they know exactly how to navigate the insanity. That's why Tina Fey and Andy Samberg bookended the season and Fallon (with SNL favorite, Justin Timberlake) led the show into the new year with a fantastic Christmas episode ("Home for the Holidays (Twin Bed)" is a classic).
So Many Good People: I'm not sure if we are looking at any Tina Feys, Eddie Murphys, or Will Ferrells right now, but this is a strong cast. Kenan Thomson and Bobby Moynihan are the elder-statesman. Taran Killam benefited from Bill Hader and Jason Suedekis' departures. Cecily Strong is blowing up and could soon be dominating like latter-year Kristen Wiig. Aidy Bryant is showing up more and more in great sketches. Kate McKinnon is unleashed on sketches. Jay Pharoah is getting more to do than just impressions. Vanessa Bayer and Nasim Pedrad are the only regulars not getting enough burn. Then there's the strong, if not obscenely large group of Featured Players who brought a lot to the show, especially in the digital short contributions.
End of Show Sketches: I've never watched SNL regularly until recently but my understanding was that you start strong and end weak. Basically, the best sketches (or most promising ones) go before Weekend Update. Some of the best sketches this season were at the end of the show. Last Call at Donnelly's with Kate McKinnon and the male host that week and The Pornstars are two of my favorite sketches and firmly planted at the end of the show. Or, there's something amazingly strange like the Lady Gaga sketch set in 2063. It's reached the point that anyone turning the show off early is missing out on some of the best the show has to offer. It doesn't help that the opening sketch was a dud almost every week.
Bad Hosts: There's nothing worse than a bad host for SNL. One that the writers have no ideas for, one who looks stiff and nervous or like he didn't practice enough, one who feels shoehorned into every scene with the regulars. Ed Norton didn't seem at all comfortable and there were a lot of weak sketches that week. There didn't seem to be any ideas for Josh Hucherson (you could almost hear Lorne Michaels saying "We were this close to getting Jennifer Lawrence") and they wrote him to the background as much as possible. It's hard to ever say if the issue was a host being stubborn about ideas or if the writers dropped the ball, but when an episode is bad, SNL has the sort of luxury that the host is front and center when people go looking for what went wrong.
Too Many People: The show ended this season with 17 repertory and featured players. That's the most since at least 2000 (that's where I stopped checking, not where it's matched). I'm not sure why they added 8 featured players this season (again, most since at least 2000). Maybe the producers know about an exodus coming that I don't. The result was that many of the actors fell off the map completely. There were times I forgot Nasim Pedrad was on the show at all (btw, it looks like she's leaving for a Fox show next season). I can think of one sketch with John Milhiser (Gaga and him as parents doing their son's dance routine) and the only time I recall seeing Brooks Wheelan is in a couple Weekend Updates in which he played himself. I'm sure it will balance out by next season. I only worry about who will go (I'm really hoping Beck Bennett, Noel Wells, and Kyle Mooney stay around at the very least).
Diversity: Ok, this is one that gets on my nerves a little because I do think the people who tryout the best should get the job (and I hope that's how they are picking them), but it got kind of ridiculous when the season began with six new performers (five, at the time interchangeable, white guys) yet we still couldn't have a Michelle Obama. Of course, they fixed this by adding Sasheer Zamata halfway through (after a few too many on the nose sketches when Kerry Washington hosted) and she's great. It's a shame that it took a PR hit for them to finally fix that hole in the cast. I'm not for casting diversity only to be diverse. Draft for talent, so to speak, although, sometimes you do have to draft to fill a need too.
SNL finished its 39th season this year. That's pretty incredible when you think about it. It's more of an institution than nearly any show on TV. The quality waxes and wanes, as does the public's opinion of it (sadly, the two don't always line up). We are currently in a fallow period when it comes to notoriety. They ended last season with a bankable star in Jason Sudeikis, Fred Armisen who also starred in a cult hit TV show (Portlandia), and Bill Hader, who in addition to being a Swiss army knife on the show, has been a go-to punch-up guy to make a character more interesting in almost every comedy movie for several years. There's no one like any of them in the current cast yet. Taran Killam is popping up in a lot of places and could break at any time. Casting agents are only now discovering last year's promotions (Strong, McKinnon, and Bryant), all of whom I could see getting big. I've heard the annual chorus of people claiming "SNL isn't as good as it used to be" but I think that will change once people get more familiar with who is there now. Colin Jost taking over for Seth Meyers as the head writer holds the potential for a lot of change in both quality and perception of a series about to hit its mid-life crisis.
Previously this Offseason...
Community
Brooklyn Nine Nine
New Girl
Suburgatory
Modern Family
Parenthood
The Mindy Project
The Michael J Fox Show
The Big Bang Theory
Agents of SHIELD
The Crazy Ones
Back in the Game
Parks and Recreation
The Walking Dead
The Middle
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