r/SNL

SNL US is having a strong year. It's great to see them having fun again after the underwhelming 50 and the big cast changes. They're hitting their stride again.

SNL UK has been such a pleasure to watch to the point where I think I low key look forward to it more than the US one now. Hard to say but they are killing it with some things.

Just glad in general the landscape is running well. I hope UK gets picked up!

The music, vocals, and content of all of her songs is so uninspired it sounded like watching paint dry in a country music karaoke bar. Why is she singing about chewing gum like she's 14? Brutally bad.

He seriously needs to get off the show. He's such a terrible actor because he delivers every line clearly thinking he's the funniest person on the planet. Every cold open is so uncomfortable to watch.

This is the first true season of SNL. I felt like I was watching the past 2 years waiting for the show to find its voice and now I've been rewarded. While it had its rocky moments, like every year, I can say this season is brilliant and a contender for best season. This year gave us some big hits and plenty of classic episodes I'd recommend (that's a post for another time). Even weak episodes, like the one Chevy hosted, had sketches to recommend, like the last sketch that had many endings. I'd also recommend Josh Ramsey, V.D. Caseworker. It's 11 minutes long and somehow brilliant.

I've yet to do the hypothetical "would I bring them back" because the answer is still yes, despite some issues I have, which I'll get to in a bit, so I might have to ask that when I get to Season 4 due to some cast changes. I love the cast but I didn't love how the cast was used this year. Let's get into that now!

Bill Murray
(MVP - Madeline Kahn, Hugh Hefner, Art Garfunkel, Jill Clayburgh, Richard Dreyfuss, Buck Henry (2))
Looks like Billy The Kid shook off the newbie nerves and became THE Bill Fucking Murray that we all know and love. And boy, do I love the guy.
Best - out of all of his best moments, and there were many, the bestest was him saying “boy my penis sure hurts when I urinate”. I’ll also shout out X Police and Nick The Lounge Singer.
Worst - I knew I loved Bill because there wasn’t a moment I disliked him. His “knucklehead” Update bits were repetitive but that doesn’t feel right to put in the worst place. 

Dan Aykroyd
(MVP - Steve Martin (1 & 3), Robert Klein, Chevy Chase, Art Garfunkel)
Aykroyd has chemistry with everyone and is a valuable character actor. I’ve always loved the guy but this rewatch has me thinking he was the most talented cast member at the time.
Best - He gave us some great hits with Wild and Crazy Guys, Irwin Mainway, X Police, and Tom Snyder.
Worst - his delivery on Update was just not it. Aside from his great News for the Silent Movie Buff bit and calling Jane an ignorant slut, I’m genuinely surprised at how much he stunk. 

Gilda Radner
(MVP - Charles Grodin, Art Garfunkel, Michael Sarrazin)
Another pretty good year for Gilda. Sometimes there was a sense of sameness from her, but I still love watching her.
Best - I knew about Judy Miller and I was fully prepared to hate it. She made me love it. It’s just a wound up child being cutesy, which isn’t something I would normally like. In fact, with anyone else, I might’ve hated it, but only Gilda can make that brilliant. I liked her Roseanne Rosannadanna debut in Hire The Competent, Total Woman, The Gift of the Magi, her good chemistry with Chevy (not an easy task), answering audience questions at the beginning of the OJ episode, Charlie Chaplin, dancing crazy with Steve Martin, and the beautifully done Schiller’s Reel “La Dolce Gilda”.
Worst - I’m not sure I got the joke of Hey You. It was brilliantly performed and edited, but it’s a perfume for one night stands. That’s it? What am I missing? I also don’t love how often Roseanne Rosannadanna appeared, but I’ll take it over Emily Litella. 

John Belushi aka Kevin Scott
(MVP - Buck Henry (1), Mary Kay Place, Miskel Spillman, Steve Martin (2), Art Garfunkel)
I “got” Belushi this year. He had some of his best performances here with some great acting and I thought this was his best season so far.
Best - Roy Orbison, Little Chocolate Donuts, The Gift of the Magi, Don’t Look Back In Anger, and one of my favorites, CHEESEBURGER CHEESEBURGER CHEESEBURGER.
Worst - I kinda cringed when he said he planned on being dead by 30, for obvious reasons. 

Laraine Newman
(MVP - Hugh Hefner, Christopher Lee, Michael Sarrazin)
The underuse of Laraine Newman baffles me. She’s such a versatile performer yet, because she was used the least and had the least successful post-SNL career of her fellow cast members, she’s considered a weak link. It’s unfair. This binge has made me love Laraine more than ever.
Best - an excellent Katharine Hepburn, she was also doing the voice of a baby in a Buck Henry sketch but obviously didn’t get credit for that, Mr. Mike’s Coral Waters Cafe, E. Buzz Miller’s giggly co-host, she was really good in the Gary Weis short The Voice, getting a Nutrifix injection in the ass, and her Update piece where she was the leading lady of American Hot Wax.
Worst - I never disliked Laraine. I didn’t understand the Hugh Hefner opener but her performance was great. And how great did she look in that Playboy bunny regalia? 

Garrett Morris
(MVP - OJ Simpson)
Garrett was pretty hard to find. He was still giving some good performances, but he was used sparingly, sometimes not appearing till later in a show.
Best - Is it bad that my favorite moment of his was his Tina Turner impression? He also gave us Reverse Discrimination, Great Moments in Sports, and he did a funny sports Update report where he made a mistake and then changed the subject by saying “what are you gonna do about it? Oppress me for another 400 years for an honest mistake, huh? Jive crackers!”
Worst - he really didn’t have a good enough Richard Pryor impression. 

Jane Curtin
Jane was ranked lower by default in the past two seasons, but this year, she was someone I was very close to considering a weak link. I’m sure I’d be nicer about Jane if Update was better. Someone described her tenure like it was Jane Pauley reading headlines from The Onion, but that concept is actually funny. Maybe I’m too removed from the material, but it even seemed like the audience didn’t enjoy it like they used to.
Best - I enjoyed her being a Croatian babe with Laraine next to the Festrunk brothers, I found her hilarious screaming in the horror film parodies in Christopher Lee’s monologue, I liked her Pythonesque accent in The Forgotten Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, and I just loved her playing Tom Snyder’s mom who sounds exactly like him.
Worst - the answer is Update. It made me so bored. There also was barely any chemistry between Jane and Dan. 

Al Franken & Tom Davis
I guess Franken & Davis are considered cast members, even though they felt more like guests. Franken obviously has made his mark on the show and Tom Davis slept with someone I know. Oh sorry, wrong place for that.
Best - when Franken had a brain tumor.
Worst - the one where they admitted to having a sexual relationship. Because two men doing it in the 70s is funny. 

Non-cast MVP’s - Ray Charles, Michael Palin

This might be my least controversial ranking to date! Maybe?

I can’t be the only one hoping that Sabrina Carpenter stayed in NYC after the Met Gala and that we’ll get one more Snack Homiez sketch this season! I have tween nieces and the “lingo” and attitudes are spot on, so funny!

I would love for those two to do the husband and wife team of ‘Get off the Shed’.