'Wasn't That Special' Season 36 Bonus Materials
As the Wasn’t That Special co-hosts watch each season of Saturday Night Live, they compare notes on each episode, chatting back and forth about both popular and long-forgotten sketches. Some of the topics they discuss make it to the final podcast; others are left on the cutting-room floor.
But for those of you who join at the Executive Producer level, you will have access to Christian and Scot’s behind-the-scenes notes, as well as bonus materials the co-hosts used to prepare for the episode.
Please enjoy this edition of the Season Thirty-Six bonus notes section, with the clips coming soon.
Help keep the podcast advertisement-free and upgrade to the Executive Producer level, which will keep these emails coming in the future.
Episode One: Amy Poehler
Christian: Pretty middling start to the season bolstered by plenty of star power.
Bronx Beat - Katy Perry guests, has giant breasts
Christian: Lots of good laughs in this one. It's better than when it was actually on the show.
Ladies' lunch: Poehler and Wiig compete to see who can wear the tiniest fashionable hat
Christian: Vanessa Bayer's first speaking role? This is just Wiig’s Penelope in a different form.
Scot: Professionally done. Moderately successful.
Episode Two: Bryan Cranston
Christian: Strong one! With very little Hader or Wiig.
Scot: Virtually no Sudeikis, too.
The Miley Cyrus Show - Miley Cyrus (Bayer) doesn’t let Johnny Depp (Brittain) say much
Christian: It's rare that an impression can carry a good sketch, but both Bayer and Paul Brittain are great in this.
Scot: Didn't quite see what you did here.
What Up With That: Back To School Edition - Morgan Freeman & Ernest Borgnine [cameos] sit & watch
Christian: Taran Killam takes over announcing duty - how are these never not good?
Scot: Ernest Borgnine is amused.
Shana (Wiig) - on a basketball court, Shana simultaneously attracts & repels co-workers
Christian: Step up from the Charles Barkley one.
Scot: Eh, the first drink joke worked but I don't need more burp/fart humor.
Kid Smartz - (Kenan) is lone contestant to rebuff emcee’s (Cranston) kisses
Christian: Really stretching the limits of the "men kissing men" theme.
The Bjelland Brothers - zero-hit wonders (Cranston) & (Armisen) perform song about sparkling apple juice
Christian: Getting the crowd to sing the song was a new wrinkle for an SNL skit. Otherwise pretty meh.
Scot: There's no 'there" there.
Episode Three: Jane Lynch
Christian: Better than average, maybe fell a little short because I love Jane Lynch.
Ask Gloria Allred - attention-hungry Gloria Allred (Nasim Pedrad) addresses own awfulness
Christian: Predates Jimmy Kimmel's "celebrities read mean tweets."
Scot: OK, OK. Pedrad is a quality cast member.
Glee/Gilly - Sue Sylvester (Lynch) enjoys watching Gilly
Christian: Is Lynch going for Sudekis' "What Up With That" look?
Scot: If possible, these are worse without Forte.
The New Boyfriend Talk Show - (Samberg) interviews mom’s (Lynch) one-night stand (Sudeikis)
Christian: At least five KILLER jokes in this one. What a great premise.
Scot: Interesting little set-up here and a couple good laughs - Magic Johnson joke probably not happening today.
Secret Word - Mindy Grayson & comedienne (Lynch) flout game show’s rules
Christian: Good performance by Lynch, but...stale. "Chop Suzy and the Egg Roll Gang" joke probably not happening today.
Scot: Same old, same old.
Returns and Exchanges - researching a role, Denzel Washington (Pharoah) mans the Macy’s returns desk
Christian: Is it funny? Not really - but Pharoah's Denzel impression is dead-on.
Scot: Really really good Denzel impression.
The Suze Orman Show - Suze Orman’s (Wiig) ex-roommate (Lynch) is in denial about her lesbianism
Christian: Duplication theory (where every recurring character eventually gets a double, usually the host.) But I enjoyed nonetheless.
Scot: Same critique: this is better when focused on financials, not personal life.
Sunday Night Football - Faith Hill’s (Lynch) Sunday Night Football theme extends past the kickoff
Christian: Boy, this person won't stop singing! Some good jokes nonetheless.
Scot: Lynch is not ... exactly the actress you think of when you want someone to play Carrie Underwood.
Tax Masters - Patrick Cox (Sudeikis) & vestigial conjoined twin (Armisen) shoot Tax Masters spot
Christian: The props department is the star of this one. That tiny face is so gross.
Scot: In a rush because the show is long. Need to have a specific memory of these commercials for it to work, I think.
Episode Four: Emma Stone
Christian: With Emma Stone on the set, no need for Bayer or Elliott.
Scot: It's Featured Player Night on the show - Shocking how little Sudeikis appears so far this season.
Reid Rally - Harry Reid (Brittain) distances himself from Barack Obama (Armisen)
Christian: They just did a "Congress tries to separate itself from the president" bit with George W. Bush in the 2008 Presidential Bash show.
Scot: Actually a good concept they can't make pay off - this is the kind of rally Kamala needed.
Dream Home Extreme - (Stone) not excited about new home despite Wiig's effort
Scot: Wow. Bringing this back after three years. - Same great Wiig acrobatics but also just the exact same sketch.
Christian: Yes, same sketch, but Wiig is good enough to make it work again.
Wrangler Open Fly Jeans - Brett Favre (Sudeikis) plugs jeans
Scot: Forgot about the Favre sexting story, but here's a reminder.
Christian: Oh, people in Wisconsin haven't forgotten the Favre D-pick story.
Les Jeunes de Paris - in a bistro, “Ta Douleur” inspires youth dance-off
Scot: A lot to admire here and it's fun.
"Sex" Ed Vincent's Sex Symposium (Brittain)
Scot: Brittain shines - Trunk character, perhaps? He's got it down. - Really, really enjoyed this.
Episode Five: Jon Hamm
Scot: More than decent start, begins dropping parts along the side of the road as Garth and Kat enter.
Monologue: Hamm improvises ad slogans for products suggested by audience members
Christian: Feels like a Mulaney.
Vincent Price's Halloween Special - Hamm as JFK
Christian: "Dick in a Pumpkin"
Back to the Future 25th anniversary DVD
Christian: Who knew Jon Hamm had a Robin Williams bit in the bag?
Scot: Pacino's line read of "Great, Scott" is fantastic.
Highway Cops - (Sudeikis) & (Hamm) share motorcycle and have fun together
Scot: Just meanders around until landing on a man kiss.
American America Presents: Dog In Purse with David Spade
Christian: All you need to know: "Written by Fred Wolf."
Scot: What is going on here?
Episode Six: Scarlett Johansson
Christian: Total bomb this week. Forte's presence is really needed to break up these recurring bits.
Scot: Bayer's been showing up a bit recently - This is an interesting season so far with cast usage. Feels like a sea change in front-line players. Oh, and way too many duds this week for a talented host.
China Press Conference - Hu Jintao (Hader) preps to be shafted by USA & Barack Obama (Armisen). Pedrad as translator.
Christian: I don't know if I should be disappointed in Hader for not even attempting to sound like he's speaking Chinese or give him credit.
Scot: Holy crap, it's the exact same sketch. Why would you Cold Open with this twice? Come ON. - Content is fine, but we've seen it all before. I can't believe they'd do this.
Johansson & Dina Lohan (Wiig) & Ke$ha (Elliott) sing
Christian: Pretty sure asking women to have class these days is considered "blaming the victim."
Scot: Prescient advice: "Sex tapes always leak." Less than one year later her nude pictures would leak to the internet.
The Millionaire Matchmaker - Patti Stanger (Johansson) pairs a mousy nerd (Bayer)
Christian: I have had the misfortune of actually seeing this show, and it gets it mostly right. Bayer actually has an old online dating service video that made the rounds.
Scot: Bayer sounds like a Wiig character. Johansson is pretty good at this.
The Manuel Ortiz Show (Armisen) - Latin flair punctuates a paternity controversy
Christian: Hader wills this into "pretty bad" territory instead of "historically awful."
Scot: I really really really don't like this thing. Bored by it.
Hollywood Dish - Johansson answers are manipulated during her interview with Hollywood Dish
Christian: Johansson and Ryan Reynolds announced their separation a month from this sketch.
Scot: Another recurring sketch with zero new ideas or twists or anything at all, right down to the spit take.
Stars of Tomorrow - peppy tweens (Johnansson) & Laura Parsons (Bayer) declaw drama
Christian: I love Bayer's child actor bit.
Scot: Would we laugh today at white children playing minority roles? This is a big thing now.
Mike's Busteria - Mike & daughter Lexi ballyhoo ceramic busts’ inherent class
Scot: Crowd's totally dead.
Christian: Count me in with the crowd.
Episode Seven: Anne Hathaway
Christian: Hathaway is excellent once again, but the material doesn't match her first episode.
Scot: Every show seems to have a similar arc of wildly varied quality.
Free Thanksgiving Dinner - on Thanksgiving, volunteer Penelope harvests attention at a soup kitchen
Christian: Trying to wring water from a stone.
Scot: Just totally out of gas.
Royal Engagement - Queen Elizabeth (Armisen) & Prince Philip (Hader) intimidate Kate Middleton (Hathaway)
Christian: Should have saved this one for Meghan Markle.
The Essentials with Robert Osborne - whiny Weather Vane (Armisen) was cut from The Wizard Of Oz
Christian: Nowhere even close to a laugh in here.
Scot: Just fine.
WXPD News New York - elderly TV reporter Herb Welch (Hader) hits his mic but misses the story
Christian: Herb's going to be back plenty, so credit for doing it the first time.
Horse Play - star-laden soundtrack upstages animated equine baseball movie
Christian: Is it interesting seeing them throwing together disparate impressions? Yes. It is funny? No.
Scot: We're closing with three straight commercials, are we?
Episode Eight: Robert DeNiro
Christian: Another DeNiro dud. Feels like Sudeikis is really having an off year - completely unmemorable.
DeNiro's henchmen bully audience members who point out his NYC inaccuracies
Christian: Third time they've used the "New York host gets stuff about the city wrong" bit.
Scot: Hey, writers are asking audience questions again! - DeNiro is so stilted in his delivery.
What Up With That - Hollywood tribute has host & Robin Williams [cameo]
Christian: Decent wrinkle with DeNiro being intimidating, but he's so wooden.
Little Fockers - on the set of Little Fockers, everything but DeNiro wows Keith; Stiller cameo
Scot: Moynihan brings back the character from the NHL locker room - the Analyze That joke was worth a point.
It's a Living - If you want a drink, you've got to screw DeNiro
Christian: My God this is awful.
American America Presents: I, Hippie with Dana Carvey
Scot: Fred Wolf did these.
Episode Nine: Paul Rudd
Christian: Vogelchecks kept this from being great. It's simply really good.
Scot: Big Hader show tonight. And McCartney everyhere. And Rudd slides right in. Feels like an event. Is Sudeikis filming ... Horrible Bosses? He's just absent completely for a few shows this year (in a pre-tape piece tonight).
GOP actually hold Obama hostage - Stockholm Syndrome
Christian: It got there eventually.
Scot: Holy cow, the crowd is dead for the beginning; they're not getting the conceit - Definitely feels like a Downey once it gets rolling.
Rudd realizes McCartney is the show’s most popular Paul
Christian: Rudd really sells it.
What's That Name - contestants (Rudd) & (Bayer) fail to identify lower-class helpers
Scot: I loved it from start to finish.
Digital Short - (Samberg) & (Rudd) trip to “9 to 5” theme; Mario Batali cameo
Christian: Totally random and out of nowhere. A nice surprise.
Scot: This is a fun take on only knowing the first line to a very famous first verse; McCartney helps.
Holiday Jam -Principal Frye (Pharoah) gives crisis updates during high school assembly
Christian: "Attention teachers and students" a catchphrase candidate.
Scot: I can't stand that breathing into the mic. Can't get past it.
Episode Ten: Jeff Bridges
Typical S36 menagerie of good/bad/lame/interesting.
Message from Mark Zuckerberg (Samberg)/Julian Assange (Hader)
Christian: From Wikipedia: Bill Hader suffered a panic attack while impersonating Julian Assange. Lorne Michaels calmed him down backstage after the sketch telling Hader, “you can work here as long as you want”.
Scot: Not as good as the others.
Jeff'd - host nips his good-natured pranks on fellow actors in the bud, Samberg as Billy Bob Thornton
Christian: Pretty lame and one-note.
General Store - in the Old West, gift-wrapping pioneers (Bridges) & (Wiig) faze shopgoers
Scot: DOA in the first 15 seconds.
Episode Eleven: Jim Carrey
Christian: That sound you hear is Vanessa Bayer creeping up into the Female Cast Member 1 slot.
Scot: At least Moynihan has Crispino. Not much else happening this season for him.
Message From the Mayor - Michael Bloomberg (Armisen) talks blizzard response
Christian: This sketch occurred at the very moment Scott Walker was introducing his public union restrictions in Wisconsin.
Scot: Another shot across the bow of public sector unions.
Black Swan - Nina’s (Pedrad) mannish rival Lily (Carrey) is more adept at Black Swan role
Scot: Carrey in drag - Never saw the film, might be missing something.
Christian: You're not missing anything. This sketch is lame.
Finding Your Power - hidden-camera footage belies self-assertion claims; Sudeikis hosts, Samberg and Bayer guest
Christian: A precursor to "And I Said Bitch," the opening sketch from Key and Peele that would debut a year later.
The Worst of Soul Train commercial - Moynihan is "Coffee Robinson."
Christian: Did nothing for me until the Carrey bit.
Scot: Carrey's song work as a nice topper. Good momentum.
Weekend Update - Pelosi hands power to Boehner - Wiig as Pelosi, Hader as Boehner - Obama approval up - Anthony Crispino (Moynihan) -Arkansan red-winged blackbird (Samberf) & fish (Killen) ponder animal die-offs
Christian: Should probably note at some point that Crispino is basically just Emily Litella.
Scot: Prescient: "Look out Nancy, he's got a hammer!" It happened Oct 28, 2022.
Episode Twelve: Gwyneth Paltrow
Digital Short - Pee-Wee Herman [cameo] & Samberg drink shots & go wild; Anderson Cooper cameo
Christian: Mostly just leans on the fun from seeing Pee Wee again, but it's pretty cool.
Scot: Pee-Wee's friends are a fun surprise.
Bar Mitzvah - Taylor Swift (Paltrow), Jay-Z (Pharoah), Katy Perry (Elliott) perform at Jacob’s (Bayer) bar mitzvah
Christian: Feels mostly like time-killing, but this is fine.
Scot: Impression workout - Jacob is another character that goes from sketch to WU.
Cee Lo Green - “Fuck You”
Christian: Hope Cee Lo enjoyed his brief fame because he got canceled (for good reason) in 2014.
ESPN Deportes - Latin anchors anglicize USA proper nouns & phrases
Scot: Joke is not enough to sustain a sketch.
Spitzer Auditions - Eliot Spitzer (Hader) auditions potential replacements for Kathleen Parker
Scot: Hader's Spitzer is a hoot.
Episode Thirteen: Jesse Eisenberg
Christian: Actually thought this was a pretty strong episode, aided by there being no bombs. We are a full half a point off on this one.
Scot: Weaker than usual.
Once Daily Estro-Maxx commercial
Scot: Ain't a chance in the world this sniffs the air today
Christian: Oh WOW. I did laugh a little when Kenan showed up at the party. Surprisingly, this is still on Peacock.
Don't Forget the Lyrics - contestant (Eisenberg) makes many mistakes
Christian: Boy, this game show contestant is dumb.
WXPD News New York - Herb Welch gets defensive after botching college campus drug bust story
Christian: If it was just the microphone hitting, it would be one thing, but I really like Hader's work in these.
Scot: It's the same sketch. Same sketch. Same sketch. And hitting people with a microphone is not funny. I'm upset because this has potential to be so much better.
The Creep - (Samberg), (Akiva Schaffer), (Jorma Taccone) & (Minaj); John Waters cameo
Christian: The Digital Shorts are consistently the best thing on the show this season.
The Essentials with Robert Osborne - Blackenstein’s (Kenan) Bride is (Minaj)
Christian: The upset of the century: It took Jesse Eisenberg hosting for the show to finally bring back a good black sketch. Laughed hard several times. "Where did you get her mouth?" "From a ho that didn't know her place."
Spa Talk - Tyla Yonders’ (Wiig) talks with Kenan and Elliott, has poop-based cremes
Christian: Giving it the benefit of the doubt - maybe women associate with this more and I just don't understand it?
El Shrinko - (Samberg) & (Eisenberg) claim they need to take a penis-reducing medication
Scot: Fine.
Episode Fourteen: Dana Carvey
Christian: Just when Bayer was making a run, she disappears again. And I will announce my priors on Killam - even at his best, he's no better than average.
Scot: Immensely frustrating episode that somehow takes advantage of none of Cavey's strengths. A mini-rut for these past three shows.
Wayne's World - Winter’s Bone dominates the Oscar picks of Wayne & Garth
Christian: Welcome back, Garth got pubes joke! Not seeing this for a long time certainly benefits it.
Scot: Still feels fresh, doesn't it?
Carvey claims 86-93 was the best cast. Lovitz joins him to affirm.
Christian: It's not bragging if it's true.
Scot: "Don't watch them all." Too late! - “I did Ching Change, but that’s racist now.”
Pageant Preview - Boy (Samberg) competes in preteen girl pageant coordinated by (Carvey) & (Kenan)
Christian: Carvey is doing Hammond's Al Gore here.
Scot: Aaarrrfgfghfghh. Why is this episode so bad???
Deidra Wurtz: Downsizing Expert (Elliott)
Christian: Ugh, there was close to something here, but a swing and a miss on a recurring character attempt.
New Wave band (Carvey, Armisen) plays at a bar before the Super Bowl
Christian: Need more Green Bay Packers-based sketches.
Scot: Come on, guys - This is really close to that New York/homeless 10-to-1 from a few weeks ago.
Episode Fifteen: Russell Brand
Scot: Random: I miss the shots of the band going into/out of breaks. Pharoah is in the Darrell Hammond Memorial "Impressions Only" cast position.
The O'Reilly Factor - Bill O’Reilly’s (Sudeikis) interviews Barack Obama’s (Armisen) at Super Bowl
Christian: When's the last sketch where you said "Armisen really killed it in that one?"
Scot: Sudeikis does a lot right but goodness is he a terrible impersonator.
Monologue: Brand does stand-up about tight trousers, the Oscars, being married
Christian: I'm a small-government guy, but we need a licensing commission to determine who can actually call themselves a "comedian."
Gublin and Green - Frank Gublin (FRA) specializes in lawsuits related to Spider-Man musical
Christian: OK, Armisen is pretty good here.
Ultimate Vacation Giveaway - unenthusiastic winner (Brand) and Cheryl (Wiig)
Christian: They wait like three years to bring this back, then throw together two in a handful of episodes?
Scot: Recycle my comments from the last one since everything else here is also recycled.
Don' You Go Rounin' Roun To Re Ro - impenetrable accents mark British noir
Christian: OK, fine, but Guy Ritchie's "Snatch" (which this lampoons) came out 10 years earlier and had a whole character (played by Brad Pitt) with an unintelligible accent. Ritchie had already made this joke ABOUT HIS OWN MOVIES.
Scot: Royal Taster - medieval king’s (Brand) fight with royal chef (Hader) dooms food taster (Killem)
Christian: I HATED this when it started, but then...the hook.
Scot: Shouldn't like it for loud reasons, but it was a winner.
Livin' Single - rebuffed by (Bayer), (Killem) can’t abide guest’s (Brand) gropes
Christian: Brand was confessing all along.
A Spot of Tea - Samberg, Hader, Brand as old ladies drinking tea in the middle of earthquakes
Christian: Appreciate the Monty Python tribute, but...no.
Episode Sixteen: Miley Cyrus
Duh Winning with Charlie Sheen - Charlie Sheen (Hader) celebrates other trainwrecks; Elliott as Aguilera, Armisen as Gaddafi, Cyrus as Lohan
Scot: Man, this is a HUGE Hader season, ain't it?
Our Time with Taboo (Samberg) & apl.de.ap (Kenan) - Fergie (Cyrus) and Will.i.am’s (Pharoah)
Christian: Just enough laughs in this.
Scot: Those names (real, apparently) are the funniest things about the sketch - Oh, wait: "Taboo is on the cover of this month's Vaguely Asian magazine" is a good line.
The Essentials with Robert Osborne - The Sound Of Music
Christian: I didn't HAAAATE it.
Scot: Swing and a miss - This series went in a different way than it could have.
The Miley Cyrus Show - Justin Bieber (Cyrus) is a male counterpart to Miley Cyrus (Bayer)
Christian: Three talk shows before the musical guest. I guess that's pretty cool?
Scot: Running out of steam with this thing.
La Jeunes De Paris - More French dancing and magic tricks!
Christian: Technically proficient, and mostly newer cast members get to shine.
Scot: I mean, it's pretty much a dance version of What Up With That? We're just watching people have fun.
Rock-a-Billy Lady Party Moisturizing Facial Cream - Wiig & Cyrus sell facial cream & rockabilly CD
Christian: Writers' piece. Strange but things fall into place.
Cruise ship performer (Cyrus) sings “You People Are Gross To Me”
Scot: Third time in six shows an episode ends with a passive-aggressive song.
Episode Seventeen: Zach Galifianakis
Christian: I had always considered Jack Black the best SNL cast member who never was. It might have been Galifianakis.
Scot: The numbers say SOLID but this was nothing really special.
Selection Sunday - Brackets revealed for World’s Craziest Person - Kenan as Gumbel, Sudeikis as Nantz, Samberg as Vitale
Christian: Strong open.
Scot: The jump cut to Sheen's webcam makes me laugh.
Monologue: Zach delivers jokes while wearing Annie get-up & lip-syncing “Tomorrow”
Christian: Closest to an Andy Kaufman moment on the show in 34 years?
Scot: Galifianakis is pretty good at this.
Noodles - (Zach) & (Wiig) tell kids the family dog, Noodles, died via autoerotic asphyxiation
Scot: The look Zach gives the magazine before tossing it away. This one works. Another good Pedrad moment.
Celebrity Scoop - Canadian gossip show is nice & well-mannered (Wiig and Armisen host)
Christian: Canadian accents ARE funny.
Scot: It's not perfect, but I like the structure and the angle on it.
Corn Syrup Producers Of America
Christian: Kind of prescient with the debate about science.
Scot: I recall these ads; it's a nice parody.
Episode Eighteen: Elton John
Monologue: Elton talks about being a new dad
Christian: These are good jokes!
Scot: Elton is really smooth and natural here.
Weekend Update - Employment up, Busey working - Trump demands birth cert. - Meyers matches GOP presidential hopefuls & Celebrity Apprentice contestants - Khadafi (Armisen) returns - Bronx zookeeper (Kenan) - Nicolas Cage (Samberg) covets Jake Gyllenhaal’s [cameo] role in Source Code
Christian: The Trump bit is an amazing time capsule.
Scot: Meyers calls it a "fake presidential run." Oops. - Kellogg's introducing "Beige Loops."
The Old West - Gay cowboy (Elton) at an Old West Saloon
Christian: Boy, Elton John does a good job of pretending to be gay!
Scot: Did you know Elton John is gay?
Episode Nineteen: Helen Mirren
Christian: Three British hosts in the past five episodes. Bayer backsliding, Pharoah and Elliott barely on the show.
Barack Obama (Armisen) lists compromises made to avoid government shutdown
Christian: Zzzzzzzz
Scot: It's rare we say this (I think?) but this is just plain dumb. It's a dumb idea.
Helen Mirren's Magical Bosom - breasts transport Pedrad to nirvana
Scot: I was alive in 2011. Did I just miss the "Helen Mirran as sex goddess" discussion?
Christian: Prescient that Dave Grohl would be there. Also, yes - there was a great deal of discussion at one point about how every young guy still wanted to hook up with Helen Mirren.
Fox & Friends - Killem as Doocy, Moynihan as Kilmeade, Bayer as Carlson
Scot: This essentially replaces The View sketches. Hosts are morons talking nonsense.
Christian: Yeah, it's like The View, which is why it's pretty bad.
Mary Shelley’s (Mirren) landlord Frank Stein (Armisen) inspired novel’s monster
Christian: Joke police alert: The monster in the original book does not have green skin or a flat head or bolts. That's all from the movies.
Scot: Better than expected?
Crunk-Ass Easter Festival
Christian: "DJ Vlade Divac" - Prescient? Shaquille O'Neal now DJs at major music festivals.
Scot: "See a live sex show from the green M&M!" - These are very reliable performers for me.
Foo Fighters - “Walk”
Christian: The Foo Fighters' inspirational songs are their worst.
Bongo's Clown Room - retiring strip club deejay Tommy (Sudeikis) intros hardly-sexy female dancers
Christian: Wiig almost saved it, but alas.
Scot: I so, so wanted to like this. But, sadly, no.
Episode Twenty: Tina Fey
Osama bin Laden (Armisen) video will
Christian: It's fine.
Scot: Armisen is cornering the market on playing Middle Eastern men - Real Q: Could they get away with just mumbling something vaguely foreign in a sketch like this today?
Jack Sparrow - Michael Bolton’s [cameo] movie obsession pervades song
Christian: On the one hand, these are contrary to the whole "live" part in the show's title. But these are the best part of the season - and again, the degree of difficulty is off the charts. And they still hold up.
Scot: Kinda ho-hum, actually, until the movie-switching begins and kicks it up a notch.
Birthing Seminar - natural childbirth video of (Hader) & (Rudolph) creeps out expectant couples
Christian: It's so incredibly stupid, I love it. 100% chance Fey wrote this - when she ratchets up the silliness, it's always good.
Bedelia (Pedrad) prefers her mom’s company at sleepover
Scot: I like this character, I really do. Not quite as strong as the Baldwin show.
Pregnant in Heels - Rosie Pope (Elliott) coordinates (Fey)’s chic childbirth
Scot: Elliott just cannot craft any sort of meaningful profile on the show.
Episode Twenty One: Ed Helms
Christian: Everything Jay Pharoah does feels like low-carb comedy, It looks like the real thing and the impressions are dead on, but it's...soulless.
What Up With That? - Simon, Chris Colfer [cameo], Lindsey Buckingham (Hader) & Lindsey Buckingham [cameo]
Christian: Appreciate the fun in bringing the real Lindsey Buckingham in, but it throws off the pacing and feels awkward.
TV Funhouse - Gay Duo comes to life - Dr. Brainio’s (Colbert), Ace (Jon Hamm) & Gary (Fallon)
Christian: The live action did nothing for me.
Scot: This apparently was proof-of-concept for a potential Gay Duo movie.
Song Memories - “Wild World” evokes secrets
Scot: 0.0 LAR (Laughs above replacement)
Ann-Margret (Wiig) Tries to Throw a Wad of Paper Into a Trashcan
Christian: She dances. That's the sketch.
Republican Candidate - unspecified white male GOP presidential candidate (Helms) give pitch
Christian: Gary Johnson was a Libertarian, not a Republican. Get it right.
Episode Twenty Two: Justin Timberlake
Christian: The numbers say this was a fine episode, but it should be knocked down a peg for all its recurring sketches. C'mon.
Scot: AN ENTIRE SHOW OF RECURRING SKETCHES ARE YOU GUYS OUT OF IDEAS OR WHAT?
Liquorville - Singing mascots (Timberlake and Wiig) work for liquor stores; Gaga helps
Christian: I honestly didn't want to like this one because it's recurring, but Timberlake is just so good. Also, is Lady Gaga in costume, or is that just what she wore to the studio?
3-Way (The Golden Rule) - Timberlake, Gaga, Samberg sing
Christian: I only vaguely remembered this but it's a worthy addition.
Scot: I had no idea there was a third one of these. It's perfectly fine but obviously pales in comparison.
What's That Name Celebrity Edition
Scot: Extremely strong. Lovely new twist in having Gaga know the names. Couple LOL moments.
Barry Gibb Talk Show - debt discussion leads to a defibrillation of Barry Gibb (Fallon)
Christian: Enough. For the love of Christ, stop this.
Scot: This should just be the theme song played three times.