'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.
Help keep the podcast advertisement-free and upgrade to the Executive Producer level, which will keep these emails coming in the future!
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?