SNL - "Daniel Craig/Muse"

Season 38, Episode 3

I’m not even going to pretend to write out an intro paragraph for tonight’s write-up. This is one of the worst SNL episodes in recent memory. Click through to find out why….

Cold Open – Presidential Debate: Making fun of something that was already such a joke to being with, and has already been picked over by so many late night talk shows, has got to be hard. And yet, even with that caveat in place, it’s hard to escape how toothless this sketch ended up feeling. It’s like the writers took every joke that already been made about the debate and shoved it into one sketch. While this did make for a few good jokes, it also meant that the sketch was directionless, and lacked any sort of real punch.

Monologue: So, an “in memoriam” gag about all the people Craig has killed while making movies over the years? Umm okay. (But by not including Layer Cake, this joke was doomed from the start.) Actually there was maybe one good joke here – I liked the idea of Daniel Craig killing a sound technician – but by not sticking with the weird/dark gags, this monologue didn’t really live up to its potential.

Construction Site: A construction worker whose terrible at making catcalls is the sort of anti-humor sketch that doesn’t really play to SNL’s strengths, and it’s hurt even further by the fact that it’s the sort of premise that feels really tired. But, credit where it’s due, Craig really went all out in order to sell this joke, and when he got some particularly weird lines (“butt soup and a whole lot of nipples” was particularly funny), the sketch actually justified its existence. But there weren’t enough of those lines.

(And can we talk about how actual female cast members, not just extras, were used as basically props for the construction worker characters’ leering, without getting any lines of their own. Also, the sketch went on without any sort of comment on how terrible it was that the construction workers were leering. In fact, we were supposed to laugh with the lines they were using. I fee like I need a shower.

Lesser-Known Bond Girls: This is a straight up impression sketch, and these sketches tend to soar or fall based on the quality of the impression work being done. (Also: whether or not impression sketches match your personal taste.) There was a nice collection of actresses being mimicked here, but it didn’t get to the wild and crazy depths that the best impression sketches get to.

(Second disgusting casting decision of the night: Kate McKinnon, an out lesbian, played the two lesbian actresses who visages were used in this sketch. Regardless of how well her impressions were – and they were serviceable at best – it’s pretty gross. Real fucking classy, SNL.)

MSNBC’s Three Days Later: This essentially marks SNL redoing all the jokes that they trotted out in the cold open, and while focusing on the pundits was moderately more successful in terms of conception, it provided less laughs than the cold open, perhaps because it was such a retread of the same material.

Long Island Medium: I know it might be hard to believe, but this is an actual show in actual life that airs on actual television. Without ever having seen the series, I can’t say for certain, but it seems like so many other TLC which are already so ridiculous that making fun of them seems like a fruitless venture. So yeah, this sketch was pretty much DOA, but dammit it McKinnon didn’t sell her material anyway.

Kirby: This is what a would call a “gaggy voice” sketch, in that I’m sure some writer or another heard Bobby Moynihan say the word “kitty cat” in a child-like voice and wrote a sketch around it. That is literally all I have to say about this sketch, and if you found it funny, then all the better for you. I however did not find it funny, and spent the whole sketch wondering when the actual jokes were going to start.

Weekend Update: In addition to Seth Meyers’ usual shtick, we also got…“Winners and Losers”, which was essentially this episode’s third attempt to mock the debate, which shows a real dearth of creativity from the writer’s room…Big Bird (!) shows up, and while it seems sort of obvious in retrospect, it was still kind of an awesome moment anyways. Too bad the Sesame Street style of humor doesn’t mesh well with what usually appears on WU...And finally, McKinnon shows up as Ceclia Giminez, the woman who ruined that fresco painting for Jesus some months back. While this is an old story that’s already been picked over many times, the show surprising found some fresh material here by mocking the old woman in question. And while mocking an old, well-meaning woman may seem mean, McKinnon managed to imbue her character with enough fire of her own that it was actually a highlight of the night.

A Sorry Lot We Are: In truth, I’m not really sure what the point of this sketch is, if it’s meant to be skewering British sitcoms, or the British working class, or what. As such, it’s formlessness just left me scratching my head.

Regine: Another sketch were I’m not really sure what the point is, apart from having Fred Armisen making weird faces. And much like with gaggy voices, this either is or isn’t your thing. Obviously, it’s not my thing.

The Undecided Voter: This sketch already aired. (Though really it’s embarrassing for SNL to be reusing a sketch just three episodes into a new season. Perhaps the sketch that was supposed to go into this lot got scrapped.)

I’m not even going to bother doing a best sketch/worst sketch breakdown for tonight’s episode. In truth, it was all pretty bad, and I’ll be hard pressed to figure out which of these was The Worst. (And to call one of these The Best would be an affront to all those I had called The Best in the past.) That being said, Kate McKinnon was on fire tonight, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she gets promoted to a series regular before the season it out.

Quotes, Etc.:

“Mr. Romney has just said that he killed Osama bin Laden. Would you like to respond?” “No, you two go ahead.”

“Must hang on for girls. Sasha…and the other one.”

“You hear that, Mitt Romney? You are a badass motherfucker.”

“So many great actors have come before me as James Bond. There’s Sean Connery and…well, they’re all great.”

“Well, you have to hand it to Mitt Romney, because President Obama sure did.”

“Biggest winner: America. Is there anything better than Joe Biden thinking it’s up to him to get the lead back?”

“Big Bird left, right?”