'Wasn't That Special' Season 41 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 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 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 Forty-One bonus notes section, with the clips coming soon.
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Episode One: Miley Cyrus
Christian: The whole vibe seems completely different, but it's basically the same cast.
Scot: Kinda decent then laugh-free content after Update.
Message from Donald and Melania Trump - Donald (Killam) and Melania (Strong) Trump defend his campaign trail statements
Christian: It is pretty prescient in how it nails his strategy of saying crazy things to get attention.
Scot: Killam is kind of doing a twist on a Regis Philbin impression - odd transition into LFNY - Cecily Strong keeps this from a "1."
Cyrus sings “My Way” as 15-minutes-of-fame 2015 personalities say bye
Christian: Well, that was quite a time capsule.
Scot: Charming idea. I remember all of these things except the donut. And the Meek Mills feud.
Bar Talk - Hillary Clinton (McKinnon) shares troubles with bartender (Hillary Clinton)
Christian: So much going on here. Hillary's Trump impersonation, her claim she wants to be the one to take him down, her playing into the show's stereotype that she's overly ambitious.
Scot: Prescient: McKinnon would later sing a different song on the show! - Clinton is good and McKinnon is outstanding. Not much going on, though.
The Millennials - New show features entitled twentysomethings (McKinnon, Cyrus, Davidson)
Christian: It feels like in one year suddenly we have been dragged into the modern era. This is either incredibly prescient or it was just starting to happen then.
The Squad - movie depicts a post-apocalyptic world ruled by Taylor Swift
Christian: Their third crack at toxic fandom of a female artist. Time to write a new joke.
Scot: Really did not like this.
Miley Wedding Tape - Mooney doesn't want to marry Cyrus
Christian: How is Jay Pharoah still on this show?
Episode Two: Amy Schumer
Scot: Lotta Bayer tonight. She was in Schumer's movie over the summer. Kinda decent then laugh-free content after Update.
Fox & Friends - Jason Chaffetz (Davidson) & Debbie Wasserman Schultz (McKinnon)
Scot: Normally like these but this was noticeably weaker than usual.
Schumer does stand-up about female role models and hanging with Bradley Cooper
Christian: Sure. Actually prescient - Schumer just this week told a story about Bradley Cooper being mean to her.
Scot: It's fine.
Hot for Teacher 8 - Kid (Bryant) interrupts (Mooney) & (Schumer) in porno set in classroom
Christian: Meh. Porn satire is about as basic as sketch writing gets.
Citizens Forum - Bakersfield city council (Strong, Moynihan) hears requests from citizens
Christian: Pete Davidson is like six months older than Bieber, who he makes fun of here.
Scot: Schumer is awful in this.
Schumer obsessed over Strong’s missing purse at baby shower
Christian: Willing to give this one the benefit of the doubt, maybe this is relatable to women in a way it isn't to me?
Scot: Guess you can say "goddamn" on SNL now.
Episode Three: Tracy Morgan
Christian: Good to see a pretty solid episode. Morgan was limited, but they did a strong job writing around it.
Dem Presidential Debate - Jon Rudnitsky as Cooper - Bernie Sanders (Larry David), Jim Webb (Alec Baldwin)
Scot: The sketch that opened the door for the next six years of cameos - Which, per my point last season, is partially because they don't have enough non-specialists to cover these characters - Recycled "Pass." joke from the GWB debate sketch - David and McKinnon was all you needed here; solid interplay.
Christian: Yep, here comes the stuntcasting. Why bring Alec Baldwin in for that? You're telling me Moynihan or Beck Bennett couldn't do it? This is still pretty flat, but I'll give it a bump because Larry David is good.
Family Feud - Remarried Morgan plays with new family against ex-wife (Jones) and kids
Scot: Pretty strong concept and execution. The first of the Harvey Feuds that really work.
Mitchell’s Fake Cocaine & Fake Poop Spray are ruses for party defecation
Christian: Good build.
Scot: I love this. Big laughs.
The Loveliest Kingdom - Idyllic hamlet shaken by Morgan's songs, Killam's gay admission
Christian: What?
Scot: I don't think the writers even knew what this was supposed to be.
The Standoff - pre-tape - Barroom dispute is resolved when (Morgan) & (Killam) dance
Christian: Contrast. Literally the second straight "he's gay!" sketch.
Scot: All that and we don't see them dance!!??
Yo! Where Jackie Chan at Right Now? - Kenan and Morgan host
Christian: Kenan joined the show the season after Morgan left. You could almost consider him his replacement. Thought this was just weird enough.
Scot: I get what they were going for, but this didn't make it for me.
Episode Four: Donald Trump
Christian: The look on Larry David's face at goodnights says it all.
Scot: Bad episode? Yes. Worst ever? Not even close. Might not even end up the worst of the season.
White House 2018 - Trump's presidency is the best of all time; Ivanka Trump cameo - Zamata as Omarosa
Christian: People laugh at Omarosa working for Trump in the White House. She did! Also, absolutely no reaction for Ivanka. Had to sting. But I think the sketch was fine, given the constraints.
Scot: This is not a bad premise (What if Trump actually is successful??) but writing and especially acting/execution is weak.
Bad Girls - women oversell the naughtiness of their delinquencies
Christian: OK, so how many of these contrast "bad ass women but they do regular things" pre-tapes are we going to get?
Scot: No laughs found. Worse than the pre-tape "Say What You Want To Say" but mines same territory.
Laser harp player (Trump) complains that his bandmates hog the spotlight
Scot: OK, this one is irredeemable.
Ex-Porn Stars - Trump doesn’t approve of endorsement
Christian: "Sorry, kids' birthday." In the new book about Lorne Michaels, the writers admit they just wanted Trump to be in a sketch with the porn stars. He asked “is this presidential?” during the week.
Episode Five: Elizabeth Banks
Christian: Aidy Bryant's screen time is primarily in prerecorded videos - not a lot of live action.
Scot: Strong bookends around the Trump episode. Noticing less Killam so far this season.
First Got Horny 2U - Banks, Bayer, Bryant, McKinnon, Strong reveal teen crushes
Christian: Bad song, middling premise.
Scot: Probably not really for us? But no, I did not enjoy.
Student Theater Showcase performers with social commentary
Christian: I do not enjoy these.
Scot: "Just sounded like bragging." - Might be the best of these yet.
Charity auction winner (Moynihan) as crime walk-on role as pervert
Christian: Top-shelf Moynihan.
Uber for Jen - O'Brien film - Uber driver (O'Brien) takes indirect route to Banks’s destination
Christian: Nice change of pace.
Scot: Couple of really good laughs and love the 3-star rating joke.
So Ghetto - Banks' life is truly ghetto compared to first-world problems
Christian: Is this only doable because Sasheer Zamata is in it?
Episode Six: Matthew McConaughey
Fox & Friends - Killam, Bayer, Moynihan - Ben Carson (Pharoah) gives his thoughts on Syrian refugees
Christian: Is the misspelling of the hosts' names on purpose? To show how dumb the show is? McKinnon's Debbie Wasserman-Schultz is effectively her Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Scot: These are done.
Blues Shack - McConaughey sits in with blues musicians (Kenan, Pharoah) who have real hardships
Scot: Photo negative of the "So Ghetto" sketch we just saw last episode.
Christian: My thought exactly.
3D Printer Man - Strong intros three men (Bennett, Killam, McConaughey); audience IDs the fake one
Christian: In S50, there's an almost identical bit about men created with AI (in the Chalamet episode).
Adele - “Hello”
Christian: In the SNL music documentary, I think it’s Hader who says the whole cast left their offices to see Adele's soundcheck (the first time she was on).
Should You Chime In on This? - Allen (Kenan) hosts - contestants are idiots
Christian: Hard to tell whether this is prescient or not. Certainly applies to the next decade, but it was obviously going on at the time.
Scot: A waste of Hillary - hits different when you explicitly are told the contestants are morons.
Right Side of the Bed - Oven cleaner fumes overcome chef (McConaughey )
Christian: Is a grade of negative one a possibility?
Town Hall Meeting - (McConaughey) is dumb, objects to train, thinks everyone thinks they are better than him
Christian: Some top-flight extra work by the woman sitting behind McConaughey.
Episode Seven: Ryan Gosling
Christian: Gosling is a notorious breaker - see his role in Beavis and Butthead in S49. Pete Davidson is effectively A. Whitney Brown at this point. Just there to drop in on WU every couple of weeks.
Scot: Gosling was giggly throughout. Feels like the cast often is better/more talented than the material - McKinnon, Moynihan, Bayer, even Bennett can be challenged.
Christmas Message from Donald and Melania Trump - Donald (Killam) & Melania (Strong) list who’s naughty & who’s nice
Christian: Prescient bit about Zuckerberg, Pretty consistent joke theme on the show about Clinton wanting Trump to be the nominee.
Scot: Blah.
Settl dating app is for women (McKinnon, Zamata, Bayer) who want to marry now
Christian: The show gets a lot of mileage out of Leslie Jones dating tiny white men.
Close Encounter - Ms. Rafferty’s (McKinnon) UFO trip is recounted, everyone breaks
Christian: As close as the show has come to Matt Foley just in terms of setting a sketch up for one killer character.
Scot: Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell wrote - McKinnon tour de force.
Santa Baby - pre-tape - Gosling & Bayer really excited about meeting Santa
Scot: This is amazing start-to-finish - Bayer tour de force - Bennett's great, too.
Birthday Party - Melanie (Bryant) has the hots for Bayer's dad (Gosling)
Christian: Quite a Bryant performance.
Scot: Don't love it but admit it's competently done.
Mooney tries to embarrass boyhood rival (Gosling) during his hometown visit
Christian: Gosling was a Disney kid, pretty sure he has plenty of embarrassing kid stuff in his portfolio.
Scot: Feels like Mooney pity for this to make the show.
Gosling & fellow elves try goading Santa (Moynihan) into discipline
Christian: These are gross and I aggressively dislike them.
Episode Eight: Chris Hemsworth
Christian: Really stretching with the title cards tonight. McConaughey, Gosling, and Hemsworth on successive weeks?
Scot: For good or bad, WU/Jost/Che are developing a political tone/approach/POV that the show basically has avoided until now. A lot of post-WU blues this season.
Presidential Address - George W. Bush (Ferrell) pokes fun at the current GOP candidates
Christian: Nary a joke in here. Just coasts on people liking Will Ferrell's impersonation.
Scot: LOL, I mean, is Obama still President? This complete disappeaance of the most powerful man in the world is wild - Pretty terrible. Just a laundry list of complaints from the left about the candidates delivered by a guy with a deteriorating Bush impression.
Time to Bleed - Hemsworth shot by suspect, won't get wound taken care of
Christian: Nice to see Zamata finally featured.
Scot: Liked this a lot; Hemsworth is really good in his role.
Brother 2 Brother - Marky (Killam) is obviously inferior to Matty (Hemsworth)
Christian: Didn't we do this last year?
Scot: Goes way way way too long.
Debra's Time - obscure holiday song “Debra’s Time” derails Christmas carol singalong
Christian: It's sort of "don't make me sing" lady?
Hunk Junction - Dancers (Killam), (Hemsworth), (Pharoah), (Bennett) don’t get strip club concept
Christian: Writer's week off?
Scot: Failure to launch.
Episode Nine: Tina Fey
GOP Debate - Rudnitsky/Wolf Blitzer, Hammond back as Trump, Killam/Cruz, Bennett/Bush, Strong/Fiorina
Christian: Conventional SNL wisdom continues to be that nobody has a chance against Hillary.
Scot: Really dig Bennett's performance as Jeb; captures the feel of this debate.
Meet Your Second Wife! - Moynihan, Killam, Kenan unexpectedly meet much younger second wives
Christian: No problem putting this in "all timer" company. It's edgy, it has a point, and all the jokes hit. Its brevity actually works for it.
Scot: Oh, man. This is wonderful. Feels very much like something Fey would write. Kenan's "Please don't be white" is fantastic. IMO, needed one more gear to be legendary.
Acting coach from The Jeffersons (Kenan) seeks inapt emoting during a serious scene
Scot: Passable due to Fey and Poehler acting the crap out of the stage directions.
Bronx Beat - Betty & Philadelphian cousin (Fey) learn of Jodi’s pregnancy
Christian: Too much Star Wars - "may the force give me a break already."
Scot: Not one of the best of these, but fine.
Episode Ten: Adam Driver
Christian: See, you can actually have a decent episode without flooding the zone with celebrity cameos.
Scot: Driver unexpectedly was a darn good host. Who's doing the films at this point? We seem to have moved past Mooney's dreck.
GOP Debate - Strong as Bartiromo, Mooney as Cavuto - Donald Trump (Hammond), Ted Cruz (Killam), Chris Christie (Moynihan)
Scot: I don't think they like/respect/know any of the candidates enough to effectively make fun of them.
Jasmine (Strong) gets pelted during magic carpet ride with Aladdin (Driver)
Scot: This seems 20 years too late.
Golden Globes - Married (Driver) & (Bayer) party after Golden Globe win; kids (Mooney, McKinnon) at home - Liev Schreiber cameo
Scot: Good hi/low manic/calm balance to these scenes.
Christian: Man, you're all in on the prerecorded bits this season.
Episode Eleven: Ronda Rousey
Christian: I’ll say it: Beck Bennett is a sub-average cast member and he is further hurt by his association with Mooney.
Scot: The mini WU commentaries that Jost/Che do are high risk/high reward. When they miss, it's a momentum killer (and the crowd feels it, too). When they hit, it's outstanding.
Trump Rally - Donald Trump (Hammond) comments on Sarah Palin’s (Fey) rambling endorsement
Christian: Bad, but not bottom-of-the-barrel.
Scot: Hammond is struggling; the structure of this doesn't work at all. Bad stuff.
Rousey panders to crowd in order to "win" the monologue
Christian: Was this the last night Ronda Rousey was famous?
Scot: Literally telling us they are squeezing McKinnon/Beiber in for no reason.
Love Struck - pre-tape - Bullied new girl (Rousey) strikes back with MMA
Christian: Bayer is so good. And "Periscope" is quite the time capsule.
Bland Man - bachelorettes throw themselves at reality show vanilla Bland Man (Killam)
Christian: I am not ashamed to admit that I have watched a couple seasons of The Bachelor and this is a dead-on impression.
Three's A Crime - Trials for teachers (Strong) & (Rousey) who had threesome with Gavin Daly (Davidson)
Christian: Note for note re-write. A Vine reference, dating it once again.
Scot: Zero reason to bring this back a second time. The crowd is dead for the teacher cutaways.
Super Crew - All superhero team members must introduce themselves before saving city
Christian: This is AWWWWWFUL.
Scot: This is how I feel when Family Feud/Game Night sketches start -- 85% of the time is establishing the impressions.
Football Party - Bennett & Mooney reveal themselves to be clueless about party protocol
Scot: SMH. A character is more than a dumb voice. In fact, this would have been better WITHOUT the voices. - Bennett and Mooney are the new Fallon/Sanz. Keep them apart at all costs.
Episode Twelve: Larry David
Scot: I was underwhelmed by an episode I think has a sterling reputation. WU is where all the best jokes/idea land now. Pre-taped gets second pick. Sketches are an afterthought.
A Message From Ted Cruz - Ted Cruz (Killam) direct to camera
Christian: Nothing here.
Scot: Obama literally has a year left in his presidency. Will we see him again? - Why is Killam playing Cruz the way Hader played Shep Smith? - Boring as hell and, again, they don't like/respect/understand Cruz nearly enough to effectively make fun of him. It's just a laundry list of reasons they don't like him.
FBI Simulator - Neon-clad Kevin Roberts (David) is target in & creator of street simulator
Christian: "Kevin Roberts" is 100% the blueprint for David S. Pumpkins.
Bern Your Enthusiasm - Bernie Sanders’ (David) neuroses lead to Iowa defeat
Christian: A perfect distillation of a Curb episode.
Scot: I think this works even if you don't know the show well.
Totino's commercial/The X Files - hungry guys are chanting zombies during Super Bowl
Christian: Better than the first Totinos bit (but I think there's another one that's even better?)
Scot: Interesting twist on this.
The 1975 - “The Sound”
Christian: Taylor Swift ended up dating this guy.
Last Call - David & Sheila Sovage at the bar
Christian: “What's your favorite smell? No fart!”
Episode Thirteen: Melissa McCarthy
Hillary Clinton (McKinnon) sings “I Can’t Make You Love Me” to Bernie Sanders backers
Scot: "Hillary has every single thing I'd want in a President. But she's not Bernie." - WHY WON'T YOU MORONS VOTE FOR HILLARY - Terrible, tone deaf comedy - "Hallelujah" makes a lot more sense after all this.
Christian: I see it a little differently. It feels prescient in that the show was on to something the pundits didn't see - that Hillary wasn't nearly as popular as everyone thought she was. And this is pointing that out.
Pick-Up Artist - McCarthy practices pick-up techniques on Mooney
Christian: Wanted to like this more than I did. And Jones breaking doesn't help.
Scot: Jones really really loves this sketch.
Kyle vs. Kanye - pre-tape - Mooney and Kayne in rap contest
Christian: Sigh. First, the nerdy white rapper bit was done much better by Mike O'Brien last year. And has there ever been an SNL cast member whose whole presence on the show is a persona? Like, it's impossible for Mooney to play any part that isn't a pathetic loser. Other good male cast members have range?
Episode Fourteen: Jonah Hill
Scot: Another utter collapse following Update.
CNN Election Center - Bennett as Tapper - Ted Cruz (Killam) & Mitt Romney (Sudeikis) weigh in against Donald Trump (Hammond)
Christian: I wrote about this two years ago.
Scot: Sudeikis saves this from a fiery funeral.
Fond Duc Lac Action News - Strong/Hill anchor - Small town report
Christian: My culture is not your sketch! Side note: Strong is from Chicago, how is Jonah Hill's Wisconsin accent better than hers? Comedian Charlie Berens would take this concept and build an empire out of it.
Murder Mystery - Hill's massive dump is revealed in course of murder mystery resolution
Christian: Is there a slot on every show for "Jonah Hill is embarrassed about shitting his pants?"
Scot: This is the Quiz Show sketch in a different setting.
Silver Star Catering - caterer (Hill) is loud and abrasive
Christian: You know why nobody is breaking in this? Because it sucks.
Scot: Rancid.
Episode Fifteen: Ariana Grande
Christian: Grande wasn't lying - she is actually Italian. I had always thought she was Latina. Also, she is a great host.
CNN Election Center - Ben Carson (Pharoah) endorses Donald Trump (Hammond); Bernie Sanders (Larry David) enjoys a win
Christian: Why even bother doing a Jake Tapper impersonation? It's distracting.
Kids Choice Awards Pre-Show - countdown to conclusion of Kids’ Choice Awards pre-show is mistimed
Christian: Lot of jokes this season about people on TV throwing to each other?
Scot: Lots of ways this could have been even better, but it's fine.
True Tales From the Sea - Bennett gets a blobfish-based mermaid (McKinnon)
Christian: There's a clip on Peacock showing how they get McKinnon in this makeup in like three minutes.
Tidal - intern (Grande) provides vocals after power outage at Tidal headquarters
Christian: A Bruno Mars rewrite, but this is pretty damn impressive.
Celebrity Family Feud - Jennifer Lawrence (Grande) & other actors take on directors - lots of impressions
Christian: The highlight of this is Grande's Jennifer Lawrence? She found something I didn't know was there.
Scot: "It's all clicks and buzzes" is a Sinatra Group line.
The Sound of Music - Maria (Grande) complains about nuns’ song about her
Christian: Is there like an SNL Bechdel test? If there are more than three women in a sketch, there has to be a song?
Episode Sixteen: Peter Dinklage
Scot: Dinklage was a good host.
At This Hour with Berman and Bolduan - McKinnon hosts - Scottie Nell Hughes (Strong) defends Donald Trump’s (Hammond) misogyny
Christian: Eh, thought it was fine.
Scot: I concede handling Trump comedically is not easy. But they are not doing well with it.
Winnie the Pooh - Winnie The Pooh’s (Dinklage) cousin Denny The Real (Pharoah) gives him advice
Scot: When's the last time Pharoah shined in a non-impression role? (I am not implying he shined here; just asking the question.)
Christian: Again, Pooh not wearing pants is an old joke. And Pharoah "shining" means "doing okay."
Naked & Afraid: Celebrity Edition - Dinklage & Jones test survival skills
Christian: For the purposes of this show, Jones+Tiny White Man = contrast, and thus comedy gold.
Space Pants - nightclub singer’s (Dinklage) space pants defuse mob boss’ (Moynihan) vengeance
Christian: I have no way of explaining why I like this.
Scot: Jon Rudnitsky is late for the sketch. How is that possible with a pre-tape beforehand? - Fun song/performance, but that's about it.
Glory Hole - restaurant in former sex parlor serves food via retained glory hole
Christian: I'm not an expert on the topic, but that seems like a large glory hole.
Scot: There is a continuing trend of underwritten sketches.OK, you've established the premise. Now do something with it. Elevate.
Vacation Nightmares - (McKinnon) & (Bryant) poorly reenact mugging by Danish men
Christian: I have no doubt McKinnon and Bryant crack each other up in the office.
Scot: Accents are not jokes.
Episode Seventeen: Russell Crowe
Scot: Show right now is just pretty boring most weeks. No risks, no great characters. WU is becoming the centerpiece for joke and character pieces. Save everything for that 15 minutes.
Christian: The cast members are less flexible because they are expected to have personas outside of sketches. (Jones is loud and aggressive, Mooney is a timid loser, Davidson is a stoner, etc.) That really limits what they can do in sketches.
Politics Nation - Guest (Al Sharpton cameo) rates candidates for Al Sharpton (Kenan)
Christian: Eh, it was a good vibe.
Scot: The misspeaks are particularly bad stretches this time.
Henry VIII: The Experience - Hologram of Henry VIII (Crowe) answers questions, demands male heir
Christian: Premise was enough to keep it out of the cellar.
Scot: "Bear me a son" is the catchphrase of the year! - The whole thing with Bryant sent this to the basement.
Match Finders - Crowe woos bachelorette (Strong) with his vaginal knowledge
Christian: Hidden topic this year: Davidson is actually appallingly bad in sketches.
Scot: How did Russell Crowe, of all people, get stuck with the most distasteful material in ages?
Shanice Goodwin: Ninja - Goodwin (Jones) rescues (Bayer) from Russian mob boss (Crowe)
Christian: A lot of sketches are asking us to bring things we know about cast members into a sketch rather than the players creating personas on screen.
Scot: Jones tells us later in the season she tore her ACL during this sketch.
Oprah Winfrey - A Life of Love - Biopic stars oddly-cast Mike O'Brien, plus features Sudeikis as Whoopi Goldberg
Christian: The Jay-Z one worked well because O'Brien's speech is so different than the way rappers talk. Oprah speaks the queen's English, so there's no stylistic contrast.
Scot: Pales next to the Jay Z one; the Oprah mag cover section is the best part.
Episode Eighteen: Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Christian: Yikes.
Scot: Hoped for better from a JLD show, but nothing doing.
Long Island sisters (JLD) & (McKinnon) show off their line of Huge Jewelry
Christian: The accent is the sketch.
Scot: This is weightless. A bag made of nothing filled with air.
The Pool Boy - housewife (JLD) is more invested in relationship than is pool boy Chad (Davidson)
Christian: Davidson actually gets much better at this as it recurs.
Scot: There's something in the disjointed performances that does work.
Cinema Classics - Actress (JLD) relied on line cues written on props
Christian: Didn't like this at all. Feels like a sketch that would have run during her time as a cast member.
Meet N Match - in a bar, aliens (JLD) & (McKinnon) are desperate to mate with human males
Christian: This was appalling. Not even close.
Scot: You'd think this teaming up would produce better results.
God Is a Boob Man - Christian (Bayer) won't bake a cake, admit God is gay
Scot: : Pat Boone was not pleased.
Episode Nineteen: Brie Larson
Christian: I could use a lot more Zamata? Seems she has a lot more to offer than they're giving her.
Scot: I don't know a lot of Larson's work but she came across very likable - Was Moynihan on at all? Extremely prescient episode, apparently, given all my notes.
Church Chat - Church Lady welcomes "Satan" Ted Cruz (Killam) & Donald Trump (Hammond)
Christian: The zag here would have been for Church Lady to actually like Trump. And it would have been prescient.
Scot: Ringers in 4 of last 5 cold opens? - "Matchup between a godless liberal Democrat and Hillary Clinton" - Nothing happening here that hasn't happened previously on the show.
President Barbie - Girls are uninterested in ’ disinterest in President Barbie echoes Democratic nomination race
Christian: Prescient!
Scot: OK, now this one is identifying something that others were slow to pick up on.
Near-Death Experience - Ms. Rafferty’s (McKinnon) has trouble with guardian angel
Christian: Some good new stuff in here, but the formula is now in place.
Scot: Just a copy.
Quiz Whiz 2018 - Strong hosts - Contestants Killam & Larson forget about Ted Cruz
Christian: Prescient on the Trump stuff, but not particularly astute on the Cruz part. Was there any sign that Cruz was going to give up the limelight after he lost?
Scot: For goodness sake does this show have a hard-on for Ted Cruz - At the same time, this does accurately comment on the speed of the cycle (Who was Clinton's 2016 running mate again?) - "All hail President Trump, our fearless leader."
Kickstarter - Chris Fitzpatrick & bandmates (Bennett) & (Larson) crowdfund movie
Christian: I think I am sterile after watching this.
Scot: Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.
Dead Bopz - Bennett intros album that features dead singer holograms singing modern-day songs
Scot: Prescient: AI can do all of this now.
Episode Twenty: Drake
Scot: Drake was everywhere and in everything.
Premium Rent-A-Car - car rental employees Drake & Pharoah have no car for Bennett & Bayer
Scot: Pharoah's a car crash in motion.
Sexy Kinda Evening with Dennis Walls & the Cookies - singer’s (Drake) 1978 special is sabotaged by director
Christian: A human being admitted to writing this?
Scot: Crowd's dead. Just filling time.
Black Jeopardy - Kenan hosts - Pharoah, Zamata, & black Canadian (Drake) compete
Christian: This one just feels like an appetizer.
Drake's Beef - pre-tape - Drake makes a big deal about minor slights
Christian: Somewhat prescient given Drake's ongoing beef with Kendrick Lamar.
Scot: Grew on me as it went.
Spring Fling - high school dance chaperone (Drake) looks fifteen years into the past
Christian: Appreciate the “what the hell is this” factor, but never really finds a groove.
Episode Twenty-One: Fred Armisen
Hillary and Bernie - Hillary Clinton (McKinnon) escorts Bernie Sanders (Larry David) from bar
Christian: Thought it was a really good SNL political sketch in that it boiled down a whole election to four minutes.
Scot: The beer explanation seemed a bit on the nose. You don't have to spell it out.
Finest Girl - Digital Short - Conner4Real’s (Samberg) girl (Bayer) has an Osama bin Laden fetish
Christian: Basically just an ad for the Pop Star movie, which this song is from.
Scot: Hey, Obama exists (though he doesn't talk)!
Farewell Mr. Bunting (Armisen) - pre-tape - Schoolboys’ poetic tribute to ousted Mr. Bunting goes wrong
Scot: Well-written lines about poetry from the book - The dark twist is very very funny, but you do know *something* is coming based on the build-up. - Written by Mikey Day and Colin Jost.
Courtney Barnett - “Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go to the Party”
Christian: Probably my favorite artist of the past decade. Drove to Chicago to see her live just weeks before this.
Harkin Brothers Band plays southern rock. Full cast + Carrie Brownstein. Armisen is Gregg Allman-type
Christian: Fun to see the whole cast say goodbye, but nothing much here.
Scot: I'm not sure what to do with this. It's fun, and everyone is involved but doesn't really have a reason to exist.