'Wasn't That Special' Season 45 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-Five bonus notes section, with the clips coming soon.
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E1: Woody Harrelson
Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) phones for Ukraine help after talking with Giuliani (McKinnon); Bowen Yang as Kim Jong Un; Liev Schreiber cameo
Scot: No plot, just endless impressions.
Town Hall Debate - Strong as Erin Burnett - Harrelson/Biden, Bernie Sanders (David) & Kamala Harris (Rudolph), Moffat/O'Rourke, Yang/Yang, Redd/Booker, Jost/Buttigieg, McKinnon/Warren
Christian: Perfectly average, hits all the required notes.
Scot: All character work, no actual commentary on issues, campaign, politics.
Sun's Out Nevada - Hosted by Gardner & Mooney, Strong is reporter - Woody, Day, Bryant own World’s Biggest Cheeto attraction
Christian: Predictable, nothing close to a laugh.
Billie Eilish - “Bad Guy”
Christian: This is pretty great. I went to SXSW the previous March and she played as a virtual unknown and her career exploded.
Weekend Update - Trump impeachment talk (again) - David Ortiz (Kenan) is still doing commercials - woman trapped under camel - new white supremicist symbols - largest airport terminal
Christian: The Che John Wilkes Booth joke hits a little different now. Che: "we all know China doesn't have clean air." Would become very prescient in a couple of months.
Scot: OK, I laughed at the Flaccido Domingo joke - short and not much happening this week
High school football team learns their coach’s (Woody) thing is broken
Scot: What a mess
Inside the Beltway - Bryant, Strong, Woody push for impeachment, Kenan repeatedly says "Not gonna happen"
Christian: Trying to draft off the Chappelle election night sketch. But credit for being prescient. A rare real moment with the jacket screw-up.
Scot: Wardrobe comes out early for a switch - Bryant breaks - One joke, at least there is a point here
Billie Eilish - “I Love You”
Christian: There's a reason she's famous.
Son (Mooney) can't talk to dad (Woody) due to busy business schedule
Christian: Nothing left to say.
Chickham's Apple Farm - sisters (Bryant & McKinnon) enable unfun fruit picking
Scot: Everybody breaks because a donkey is there - Will this ever end?
All over the board, but ultimately disappointing. Made a little better by Eilish.
Scot: Welp. Here we go again.
E2: Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Pence sits with Giuliani (McKinnon) & Barr (Bryant) - Mike Pompeo (Matthew Broderick) joins - Stephen Miller represented by a snake puppet in a basket
Christian: I cannot be bought off with Ferris Bueller references.
Scot: Is Kenan wearing blackface to play Ben Carson? - This is a crime against humanity
W-B explores how Fleabag & Killing Eve reflect her personal life
Scot: Didn't find much to like here
What's Wrong With This Picture - Kenan hosts; contestants (Bryant, Mooney, W-B) make up absurd backstories to photos
Christian: Paint by numbers.
Mid-Day News - anchors (W-B, Kenan, Moffat, Nwodim) keep a racial scorecard of crimes reported during their newscast
Christian: This one's coming back.
The War In Words- Wife’s (W_B) cryptic letters concern WWII pilot (Day)
Christian: It's a formula, but I really like these.
Scot: Even better than the first one.
Weekend Update - Impeachment rising - suspicious Ukraine texts - Elizabeth Warren (McKinnon) - China government official Chen Biao (Yang) - joke about Davidson not finding his car - Mort Fellner’s (Day) stories turn out to be obituaries
Scot: Jost is aghast that Joe Biden might be corrupt - good Che rant on border moat & Trump - So much invested in making Warren a superhero - Don't *love* the character, but clearly Yang destroys with his trade official bit - Probablys shouldn't but I like Day's bit.
Royal Romance- duchess (W-B) & Thunderstick (Kenan) were a ’70s odd couple
Christian: I guess "take a look at my big black ass" is our catchphrase?
Scot: A weaker attempt at contrast.
State-Line Bar - Tough-acting barflies (McKinnon, Bryant, Strong, W-B) still pine for Bennett
Scot: Pretty much everyone lightly breaks at some point - Not much on the page, performances can't make up for it.
Aidy Bryant getting heavy use this season and breaking in virtually everything.
Scot: Odd arc. Standard recent-episode quality on both ends, strong run in middle.
E3: David Harbour
Equality Town Hall - Moffat/Anderson Cooper - Redd/Booker, Jost/Buttigieg, McKinnon/Warren, Julian Castro (Lin-Manuel Miranda), Woody/Biden, at LGBTQ town hall; Billy Porter cameo
Scot: Written by Fran Gillespie and Sudi Green - This has to stop. Not every political sketch has to include every impression possible.
Stranger Things star (Harbour) enters SNL’s Upside Down, where Kenan bosses Lorne
Scot: Perfectly fine.
Little Miss Teacher's Friend - Nwodim is teacher, Bryant is last year's winner
Christian: This feels like that Bryant favorite nephew awards thing.
Scot: Written by Aidy Bryant, Anna Drezen, and Alison Gates.
Grouch - film depicts the origin of Oscar (host), the Joker of Sesame Street
Scot: Written by Streeter Seidell and Mikey Day, based on an idea from Harbour - Effectively skewers both Sesame Street AND Joker - Harbour is really good - A well-done pre-tape.
Soulcycle - Yang, Harbour, Gardner, McKinnon audition to be SoulCycle instructors
Christian: Yang is good, but this is just the typical "person at wedding/city council meeting/funeral takes the mike" bit.
Scot: Written by Gillespie, Green, Bowen Yang.
Weekend Update - Trump impeachment stuff - Bailey Gismert (Gardner) - California NIL law - Senate sex doll ban - 3D printer meat - Davidson doesn’t think sexually-transmitted diseases are worth worrying about
Christian: Che is so fun when he thinks he's getting away with something. Davidson is hard to watch.
Scot: "It's definitely going to get worse for Trump" - Che's U.S. map is missing the U.P. of Michigan - Some of of the Trump clips Jost finds are undoubtedly hilarious - A very good Jost/Biden joke (Biden finally realized Trump was making fun of him) - Good jokes, subpar desk pieces.
Peter Paula and Murray - In 1962, trio (Harbour, McKinnon, Bryant)
Christian: Don't see at all what you see here.
Scot: Written by Bryant, Drezen, Gates, Kate McKinnon - Sweet melody, very witty lines, love the structure - Harbour is fantastic.
Father-Son podcasting microphone - the Father-Son Podcasting Microphone brings (host) & (KYM) together
Scot: I really, really, really liked the concept and the care put into it.
Grandpa (McKinnon) & Grandma (Harbour) creep out their grandkids while making pasta sauce
Christian: Fun, but no real point to this. Glad the actors enjoyed it.
Scot: Written by James Anderson and Alison Gates - The type of gender swap and silly physical comedy material I really dislike. Lots of noise, nothing funny.
Dog Court - Strong adjudicates disputes involving canines & their owners
Scot: Written by Gillespie, Green, and Kent Sublette.
I've got it slightly below average, you have it well above.
Scot: Not perfect, but the most enjoyable non-Mulaney episode in a long while.
E4: Chance the Rapper
Trump Rally - Supporters talk. McKinnon as Graham. Moffat as Zuckerberg. Bill Clinton (Hammond) speaks, Armisen as Turkey prez
Scot: PRESCIENT! Baldwin threatens to shoot someone in the face and then does exactly that! - No plot, just nonstop impressions.
Chance and Mooney rap how they like things deemed second-best
Christian: Wait, a good song?
League of Legends World Championship - Lazlo Holmes (Chance) doesn’t know what to make of an esports tournament
Christian: Same as the hockey bit, but I still thought it was pretty good.
Scot: Recurring character! - Pretty much the same beats, but Chance is pretty darn good.
First Impression Court - Chance summarily judges (Jason Momoa) & others
Christian: Is this pro-racial profiling?
Scot: Chance breaks - Good concept and just enough to sustain through the sketch
Graveyard Ghosts - Ghost (Chance) reluctantly shares the embarrassing cause of death; also Kenan, Day, Bryant
Scot: Clearly a Day/Seidell, now a Halloween tradition of sorts.
Weekend Update - Trump in trouble, impeachment - Giuliani butt-dial voicemail - Donald Jr. (Day) & Eric (Moffatt) - Kanye West new album - all-female spacewalk -
Christian: Olaf doll joke is good. Short one!
Scot: Prescient: Matt Gaetz is "live-action Quagmire."
Love-at-first-sight leads Chance & Strong to float on air
Christian: Lot of work for a so-so sketch.
Scot: Written by James Anderson and Kent Sublette along with Strong.
Space Mistakes - fatal flubs doom astronauts (Chance, Bennett, Mooney) in film
Christian: What am I missing?
Dazzle Designgs - Bryant and McKinnon attempt to sell unattractive show choir attire
Scot: McKinnon and Bryant are allowed an amazing amount of rope this season to do whatever they want.
Dance instructor (Kenan) poorly hides werewolf transformation
Christian: A weird, disjointed energy to this. A good 10-to-1.
Scot: Chance breaks.
E5: Kristen Stewart / Coldplay
Liz Warren Townhall - At an Iowa rally, Elizabeth Warren (McKinnon) gives healthcare policy details
Christian: The reason to portray politicians on SNL is to make fun of them, not serve as a campaign ad.
Scot: Written by Will Stephen and Anna Drezen - Pure Warren propaganda.
Stewart asks questions of audience members, including Davidson
Christian: Mostly just awkward?
Scot: Allison Gates & Andrew Dismukes ask questions.
Rosie the Riveter - Fineman wins poster gig over rough Bryant, McKinnon, Stewart
Christian: I guess the McKinnon/Bryant duo is preferable to Bennett/Mooney.
Duolingo for Talking to Children commercial - Stewart
Scot: Written by Anna Drezen.
Bryant’s use of expensive Farrow & Ball paint foments family rancor
Christian: Was skeptical at first, but good escalation.
Scot: Written by Kent Sublette - Seriously enjoyed this spiraling out of control. It's a good Bryant!
Hero Dog Press Conference - Kelly Anne Conway (McKinnon) intros this
Christian: A lot of Strong dog work this season.
Scot: Why is Conway here except to allow McKinnon another role? - Nothing actually works here.
Corporate Nightmare song - Young office pop-punk rebels (Mooney, Stewart, Day, Davidson) sell out
Christian: Predictable. When they start the build, you're just waiting for them to pull the rug, and it's exactly what you expect.
Scot: Written by Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell - There's more here than you might think. Nicely done.
Coldplay - “Orphans”
Christian: A full 15 years after Coldplay's last good album.
Weekend Update - Trump moving to Florida - Beto drops out - Jeffrey Epstein's death - Katie Hill throuple - Riley Jenson’s (Villaseñor) mom (Garder) berates her - 67-year-old gives birth - Starkie sisters (Bryant & McKinnon)
Christian: Jokes are groaners, two recurring desk pieces that just rip off the originals.
Scot: I don't think Riley Jenson was used correctly.
Hungry Jury - Growling stomachs of deadlocked jury (entire cast and Stewart) perform “Pony” by Ginuwine
Christian:
Pansexual (Stewart) tries for a threesome with middle-aged (Kenan and Nwodim)
Scot: Doesn't work, no jokes written, twist doesn't work. Keep it. - Written by Kenan Thompson and Bryan Tucker.
To stargazing (Bennett) & (Stewart), constellations are depictions of oral sex
Christian: It's a shitty attempt at hot tub lovers with people with far less talent.
Scot: This is a deceptively gross episode. Throwing off S20 vibes all over - Feel like an updated Love-ahs. Written by Andrew Dismukes.