The secret to SNL's success so far this season: high energy hosts. Take a look back at the episodes that did work — Martin Short, Anne Hathaway, Jamie Foxx — and the ones that didn't — Daniel Craig, Jeremy Renner, Adam Levine, Justin Bieber. This obviously isn't a perfect barometer for success (Louis C.K. was great, despite his, well, Louis C.K.-ness, while Bruno Mars was all enthusiasm, though his hosting was weak), but it's still pretty striking, and last night's Christoph Waltz-hosted episode only furthered the point.
Because it was very good, thanks to the bundle of giddy joy that is Waltz. Unlike, to continue picking on him because obviously, Bieber, who was relegated to background player in his episode, Waltz was right up front in his and played an integral role in all his sketches. The episode leaned on him hard, and he leaned right back with a giggle. Props to the writers, too, for acknowledging his accent during the monologue, then never coming back to the easy joke again. (The role of Stock Foreign Person was left to Kate McKinnon during Weekend Update, and she killed it.) You couldn't imagine this episode working with anyone but Waltz, and that's the sign of a great SNL host.
Plus, Dejesus Uncrossed. Yes and please.
An obvious beginning. Less expected was how good it was. Maybe I'm just a sucker for good poop and dead monkey jokes, but the cold open found the perfect amount of weirdness and human misery for me. Because cruises are terrible, and once something goes wrong, society begins to crumble and we realize how pointless magicians are.
GLICE??!? Oh wait, that was last week.
A short monologue powered by Waltz's enthusiasm and Casual Hitler's style.
Not the best, but not the worst, either.
When I figured out where this sketch was going, I was ready to write it off. But it was surprisingly funny, with a depressing, game show contestant shame-causing premise I can get behind (man, I really get off on the pain of others...) and Aidy Bryant continuing to do stellar work. Sweet tap moves from Christ, too.
Giiiiilllllyyyyyyyyy.
(I love Nasim, but it seems like whenever SNL creates a character that the office idiot will say "I SO KNOW SOMEONE LIKE THAT" on Monday, they're never funny. Buh-bye.)
"JESUS H. CHRIST." "The 'H' is silent." Excellent. Waltz's giddiness was apparent and justified, Taran Killan’s wonderful Brad Pitt impression returned, and it was smart for the sketch to not just focus on Django, but Quentin Taratino's entire filmography, including Pulp Fiction-era Ving Rhames. Best of all, there are going to be some upset Christians today. Dejesus is ready.
"Where Does My Penis Go? Point to Where" is my "Imagine." Great premise, great execution, great everything.
Impressive performance from Taran, but I don't think anyone's displeased to see this in Weekend Update.
Kate McKinnon was born to play a sad Russian woman.
"My milkshake brings all the boys to the haunted mineshaft."
Except the real-life Stephen A. Smith to clarify later today that, "My main man Kobe Bryant and I did NOT have a romantic night on top of the Empire State Building. It was the Chrysler Building."
Pretty sure the writers only included "Regine" because two of them bet whether Hader would break in under 30 seconds.
It was over. A new personal best.
Always worth it, if only for THE CRAWL.
Yeah. Get it right, Fox. It's spelled, "Kurp," not "glacier."
Take a bow everyone. Ya done good.
SNL returns on March 2nd with Kevin Hart and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.
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Alabama Shakes were incredible. They can really wail.
Agreed. Their first song was the best performance I’ve seen on the show in years.
I had to pinch myself to make sure that there actually was someone delivering a good performance on SNL
even better sounding than the recorded version IMO
i compared her wails to Janis Joplin meets Tina Turner.
Wow, that DJesus Uncrossed sketched was overwhelmingly brilliant. The mix of Basterds in there, “The H is silent”, the spot on perfect parody of Tarantinos direction. Everything about this was great. I rarely burst out laughing, but this one put me over the top.
Underrated: Papal Securities. THIS is why you get Waltz to host.
I have been looking forward to this episode since I saw Christoph was hosting and Alabama Shakes were musical guests. Saw Alabama Shakes at Bonnaroo last year, on Thursday which is usually relegated for the up and coming bands, and they were one of the best shows I saw the whole weekend. And yes, that Djesus sketch was amazing. I would pay good money to see that as a real feature film.
Ehr meh ged, Nasim in that monologue…
I couldn’t stop staring at C-Strong.
Yep, Nasim Pedrad has a hot body. Probably my highlight of this episode.
Let’s not forget Vanessa rockin’ that red dress in the Fox n’ Friends bit
@DeadMeat – I will never forget those sweater puppies
I’m with Dennis. Strong has filled the “Surprisingly Funny For How Hot She Is” role left by Abby Elliott. #StrongStrong
That woman from Alabama Shakes kinda freaked me out.
very talented, even if she did look like Adam Sandler dressed as a woman.
I honestly thought it was a sketch at first. lol
The way she sang was very comical looking. Good voice though.
She is one rugged woman
I thought, despite a lot of bright spots, that most of the episode was kinda forgettable. Not that it was bad, but only great by comparison to last weeks show.
Having said that, Alabama Shakes fucking killed it.Bobby Moynihan continues to be the MVP this year. Casual Hitler made me laugh. And Djesus is an instant classic.
totally agree on all points except for alabama shakes. just not my thang.
Derrick Comedy alums always bring it.
I’m really glad SNL had one good episode. I’m still never watching it again, but good for them. Oh, and they should really stop stealing bits from comedian Jim Norton.
how the hell would you know if they had a good episode or not if you’ve only watched it once lately?
*other good episodes or not
@dissident
It’s called the “Modern Simpsons Paradox”. Everyone *knows* new episodes of the Simpsons suck without ever watching them.
except that people have been saying new episodes of SNL suck since at least 1980. the show has always been inconsistent. but it does provide laughs more often than not.
Super insightful comment.
For my money, SNL has been really weak ever since the main cast changed a few years back. Everyone has their own opinion, that’s fine. But there was a time when Tina Fey was writing for Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler, Tracy Morgan, etc. The generation before had David Spade, Chris Farley, Norm MacDonald, Phil Hartman, and Adam Sandler (back when they were all still funny [Hartman a bit earlier and always funny]). The current cast just doesn’t compare right now.
You’re forgetting that until about 1995, once the big turn over of that cast happened, the Farley era cast was considered one of the worst ever…until WIll Ferrell’s first few years became the worst ever, and Farley and co were automatically vaulted into legend status. It happens every time the cast turns over.
As for being inconsistent, I think 40 years of inconsistency counts as being consistent, no? Part of that inconsistency is what makes old casts great–you get to remember the great stuff and forget that outside of that best of, they were in like 60% bad sketches
JTRO, imo any cast with Bill Hader, Andy Samberg (departed this season i know), Jason Sudeikis, Taran Killiam, etc. at the very least comes close to any of the other main casts.
Papal securities, great. Overall not a bad episode. I too felt the tippy sketch going the way of gilly. hopefully it wont show up (again) as often as the groan worthy californians. But omg I still want to carry that Christoph around in my pocket. He’s adorable
I’m glad they didn’t go with the more obvious “hipster Hitler”.
Approaching this episode with cautious optimism definitely allowed it to knock one out of the park.
Also, I’ve managed to catch the Alabama Shakes twice. They’re amazing and if you ever have the opportunity to see them, don’t hesitate to take it.
not the wurst.
Christoph Waltz is so effing lovable. I think I aaaaw’d out loud at all of his portraits. And I would’ve watched a whole sketch of his spastic tap dancing.
And Alabama Shakes were awesome, of course.
My only real complaint with this episode was Regine. It’s creepy and not funny.
“creepy and not funny” = Fred Armisen’s career on SNL
Did my eyes deceive me, or did I spot Paul Brittain as one of the Apostles in the lineup during Taran Pitt’s “Romans” speech? Could have sworn he was one of them.
And I’d have to say this was a very close second behind the Louis C.K. episode for me as tops this season.
And is it just me, or did Cristoph’s Jamarcus Brothers wig and mustache sort of make him look like Kurt Vonnegut?
Didn’t see it at the time but totally do now!
i didn’t particularly like the episode very much. good cold open, Djesus Uncrossed, and Fox & Friends were good. other than that, very meh
I had never listened to Alabama Shakes before but good god they blew the doors off that joint
yeah, I thought Waltz was kind of phoning it in (as soon as the sketch was over for example he’d b line it right off stage, didn’t seem to have chemistry with any castmates). A couple of good sketches, but otherwise forgettable.
Very good episode. I actually laughed during the open which is very rare. The only real loser was that interrupting lady sketch by Nasim.
Such a breath of fresh air after last weeks episode. Christoph Waltz is just the best…I just loved it when he kept going “Heck yes!”. I just want to be friends with him.
Also, Alabama Shakes! I’ve seen them twice and their live show is really something else. Brittany Howard just rocks.
Kate McKinnon as the Russian woman made me laugh for a solid minute the same way I laughed at the exact same joke from Jennifer Lawrence in Between Two Ferns
“You should be off pudding”
“Bear with me.”
Anything Waltz is in is gold
I thought the episode was pretty crappy, despite Waltz doing a good job. Even the Djesus Uncrossed seemed like the laziest idea you could come up with.
But I will admit Kate McKinnon did an excellent job as the Russian woman. Poverty is the LULZ.
OK, I’ll check out Alabama Shakes. Not bad.
This is one of the most complete SNL casts in a very long time. Whether its the veterans or the new members, it seems like everyone is starting to mesh and understand the best manner in which to make their singular and collective comedic voices heard. McKinnon’s Weekend Update skit had me in tears. Killam’s Rubio was excellent. Fox and Friends is an adventure in absurdity. And as much as I’m not the biggest Armisen guy (except for his ‘I’M JUST KEEEEEEEEEDING’, bit, which never failed to slay me), the Gansevoort bar sketch was a solid balance of physical and social comedy. Gold stars all around.
I agree. This cast, in spite of the mostly bad writing, is really gelling this year. They play off each other really well.
I watch SNL quite a bit and most times I end up regretting it. They seem to repeat the bad sketches like “Whats up with that” too often, and the good ones are not seen enough. With that said, I do think the new cast is getting better. I too was in stitches with the Russian woman on Update.
I never even heard of Ala. Shakes until the grammys but that woman sings with more passion and raw emotion than anyone I’ve heard in quite some time. The band sounds great too. Are they considered a Country-rock band ? Anyone know? If so, it’s too bad they got pidgeon-holed as such…sounds like just good , hard-driven rock to me. Give us more shows like this SNL !
It’s understandable that Louis CK break the mold.
fat joke!
Wasn’t big on the game show sketch (but it was better than the millionth Match Game edition just by being different), and went into cautious mode if Fred Armison showed up in a sketch, but overall was pleasently solid for the first episode I’ve seen live in a while. Russian Woman and Papal Securities were probably my favorites.
Also whoever structures the show that the first two commercial breaks in the first 30 minutes were double length (resulting in sketch – monologue – sketch being the extent of the content in that time) should be eaten by the wolves in the open window.
I’m watching it now. Thoroughly enjoying the Cold Open.
The quality of the writing in this ep was just way better than previous ones. Not amazing, but strong on a relative basis – unlike some eps this season, I didn’t feel like I was watching early MAD TV.
“I never realized how many times Jesus used the N word”
~classic~
He can get away with it because black people were made in the image of his father.
Please. No. More. Tippy.
Is there really people who miss Gilly and that other horrible recurring character Kristen Wiig did? I sure don’t!
I’ve been chuckling all day just thinking the line “The children ALREADY SAD SETH!”
Wow I had no idea that SNL had any laughs yet. I thought they were going to waste a great actor. “DJesus” was great.
Meh.
I guess people’s expectations have really been by the really bad last couple episodes.
While not bad, nothing was really memorable either and their were a couple total duds. Djesus was funny, Papal Securities was ok, and the Russian woman and Stephen A Smith part of the Week End Update were pretty fun, but the remaining of week end update sucked, Tippy is horrible and unoriginal, the cold open was very meh (especially with the potential of the poop cruise), Fox and Friends are probably funnier when Colbert or Stewart use actual clips from those real morons, and Fred Armisen as a woman is NEVER funny. NEVER.
Agreed, Fred is a talented guy but that was not working well at all- he’s way better in the Californians
I can’t really stand The Americans either, sorry. I do find some of Armisen’s characters in Portlandia funny though. But I honestly discovered he could be funny in his IFC show (although it’s seems to have outlast its welcome pretty quickly and falls flat most of the time this season), he’s just the worst in SNL.
Djesus Unchained is the greatest SNL sketch this season, nay, this decade.
Taram’s Brad Pitt impression might be my favorite thing on tv right now
Also, was anyone else waiting for a joke or something at the end of that monologue? The audience clearly was, as it was uncomfortably silent. I’m getting tired of “eh i don’t know…why don’t you just sing or something” for practically everyone
His Rubio bit was pretty golden, and appropriately placed.
The Stephen A bit was really funny. Always enjoy when they bust that out.
I loved the JaMarcus bros. I don’t know how Fred Armisen doesn’t get laughs here but I think Portlandia is great. I also like the Californians, just for how stupid it is. They know its stupid. It’s 10000x better than when that horrible excuse Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz used to break characters. For some reason, as much as Hader does it, it doesn’t bother me. Maybe because, unlike Fallon, I think Hader is a riot.
I can’t wait for Kevin Hart to host next week. It’s always good when a professional comedian hosts.
Even though it was good, Djesus Uncrossed was ruined just slightly remembering that they did the same thing with “Kill Bunny”, the Adult Swim parody with Jesus.
Though it was probably better- and I’m a sucker for any excuse for them to do an “impression fest”, like the Star Wars auditions, or something like that.
Waltz was awesome. I knew he would be, but wow. Bravo.
This was a pretty strong episode. It’s not one of those “great” episodes you only get two of every year at most, but it was pretty damn good.
What I really loved about this episode, was they let the new cast members take center stage. There was a lot less of the veterans in this episode, and I think it was stronger for it.
Since I find Fred Armisen funny that kind of makes me the odd man out on this site. I would watch the Regine sketch 5 times in exchange for never having watched the Top Dog Chef one. Anything this season is better than Top Dog Chef though.
Djesus Unchained was the most obvious and lazy thing I can imagine.
Waltz was no better or worse than any other host this season. I get that the writers and most commenters here are bound by having to love him in fear of being considered uncool or whatever, but the guy just acts like himself in everything. He’s fine. As another commenter pointed out, SNL has been called overrated off and on for 40 years. Pointing out how unfunny it is now versus (insert era here) is just hack. For the most part it’s at least mildly amusing and sometimes really funny. And yes, sometimes it’s terrible. Welcome to television. I’d assume that a site that loves a show like Happy Endings so much would be used to the ups and downs.
“Waltz was no better or worse than any other host this season”
So Waltz was on par with Bieber?
I get that the episode didn’t distance itself from the SNL pack for you, but a blanket statement like this is just flat out wrong.
OK, forgive me. Waltz was a solid host and the episode was decent. I don’t dislike the guy or anything. He by no means is the freaking phenom that the writers and commenters here seem obligated to freak over though. People were gushing over the promos leading up to Saturday, which were nothing special.
As for Bieber, I’ll admit that the 18 year old singer (not an actor mind you) was pretty stiff and useless in most of the sketches. But I thought his monologue was funnier that Waltz’s and give him credit for being willing to poke fun at his wanna be black image. Denzel Washington invented the peanut? That’s probably one of the funnier jokes I’ve heard during a monologue this season. That’s not saying much given the musical numbers they’ve gone with so many times this season though.
I’d agree with the statement. Even the highlights on each page reference the surrounding cast and not Waltz (Djesus being excluded). It was more of a solid show for the cast than Waltz. I get that we all love him and stuff, but c’mon. You replace Waltz with Beiber with the game show skit and you’d all be shitting on him (and rightfully so). It was a terrible and predictable sketch that SNL has done before. Waltz didn’t make it any better.
With the exception of Djesus, I thought Cristoph Waltz was terrible. And for God’s sake, can we stop making Fred Amrisen dress in drag?
I thought there were way more misses than hits on SNL. Cecily Strong completes me.
I’m convinced the chick from Alabama Shakes is really Tyler Perry.
Outside of the produced Djesus piece, I thought Waltz was stiff and could often be seen picking up his lines from a prompter or cards or just plain stumbling through them. I expected more from a seasoned actor following a couple weeks of pop stars who no one expected any level of acting. The best piece was the Russian woman in WU and the cold open, which was kind of funny in a rapid fire joke kind of way.
R.I.P. Dan the Animal Man.
Not gonna lie, I have no idea who Waltz is.
Waltz crushed it. First host in a while that seemed legitimately thrilled to be there.
Also Alabama Shakes DESTROYED