TV: SNL Season 48

[Langdon Alger]

There is literally no way Dave Chappelle "ended his career" last night. People said the exact same thing when his last Netflix specials came out and it just made him bigger. I also thought the only actual funny skits were the ones he was in.

No, there was nothing wrong with what he said. Went on too long though.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

No, there was nothing wrong with what he said. Went on too long though.

I could listen to Chappelle for triple that amount of time.

 

[Langdon Alger]

I could listen to Chappelle for triple that amount of time.

Yeah, not saying it was bad, just most monologues are much shorter. I think a longer than usual monologue was appropriate considering what’s going on in the U.S., but it still didn’t need to be that long.

 

[Prominence Problem]

I could listen to Chappelle for triple that amount of time.

Yeah, not saying it was bad, just most monologues are much shorter. I think a longer than usual monologue was appropriate considering what’s going on in the U.S., but it still didn’t need to be that long.

The length of his monologue led to the audience beginning to be non-receptive and awkward, making most of the whole monologue awkward.

 

[Langdon Alger]

The length of his monologue led to the audience beginning to be non-receptive and awkward, making most of the whole monologue awkward.

Part of that was just because they were listening. Some parts weren’t meant to be funny. Chappelle can be both funny and serious. He touches on important topics that make you think. His monologue was at times funny, and at other times thought provoking. That’s what makes him so good.

 

[Stylizer1]

just like you can't cancel joe rogan

unless you are a hfb mod

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

Chappelle monologue was good, better than I expected (and if we're comparing similar-ish types of material/approaches, much better than the Bill Burr monologue from earlier in the season). The only big "blah" moment was the "maybe women should make less" joke, as there really wasn't much of a joke there, just more of a statement intended to illicit a reaction that isn't a laugh, which Chappelle probably knew was gonna happen, so, why put it in there at all?

The MO for SNL as of late is if a stand-up comic is hosting, they basically let them do a bit of their act for their opener (Burr did almost 8, Mulaney did almost 10). It's lazy, as when you combine that with the much-longer cold opens they do now, there's not as much time left for actual sketch comedy, but if you're not producing quality material somewhat consistently, maybe that's not a bad thing.

 

[dahrougem2]

I thought Chappelle's monologue was awful. Then again, I'm comparing it to his monologue in 2016 when he hosted right after Donald Trump won. I felt like that was incredibly funny and incredibly powerful.

This one just fell flat to me.

 

[sfvega]

I thought Chappelle's monologue was awful. Then again, I'm comparing it to his monologue in 2016 when he hosted right after Donald Trump won. I felt like that was incredibly funny and incredibly powerful.

This one just fell flat to me.

Not surprising...

 

[Just Linda]

I don't really get the Kenan love, he has no range to his acting whatsoever. He's been the most unwatchable cast member for years.

 

[Langdon Alger]

I don't really get the Kenan love, he has no range to his acting whatsoever. He's been the most unwatchable cast member for years.

Disagree, but I wouldn’t mind if he moved on. He’s done pretty much everything there is to do on that show. Wouldn’t mind seeing some new cast members get more time.

 

[tarheelhockey]

The length of his monologue led to the audience beginning to be non-receptive and awkward, making most of the whole monologue awkward.

I read it more as the audience realizing that he was pulling no punches with the dark humor, and so auto-cackling at every punchline isn't a good look. Some of those jokes, the appropriate reaction is more of a speechless "ooooo" than a BWAHAHAHAHA like you usually hear for monologues.

And in the last few minutes, the audience was quiet... not because they weren't receptive, but because he wasn't joking.

 

[Stylizer1]

I read it more as the audience realizing that he was pulling no punches with the dark humor, and so auto-cackling at every punchline isn't a good look. Some of those jokes, the appropriate reaction is more of a speechless "ooooo" than a BWAHAHAHAHA like you usually hear for monologues.

And in the last few minutes, the audience was quiet... not because they weren't receptive, but because he wasn't joking.

Not to mention he was trying to be serious.

 

[Prominence Problem]

Why does SNL take multiple week-long breaks in season? Is this normal?

 

[Langdon Alger]

Why does SNL take multiple week-long breaks in season? Is this normal?

Yeah, typically it is normal. Don’t forget they did 7 weeks of shows in a row, so having three weeks off in a row is pretty standard. They come back with three weeks of shows on December 5 though.

December 5
Jason Bateman/Morgan Wallen

December 12
Timothy Chalamet/Bruce Springsteen

December 19
Kristen Wiig/Dua Lipa

 

[reckoning]

I've found the season so far to be underwhelming. The writing has gotten very lazy; either they go for easy childish gags, or they repeat ideas from past sketches that weren't that funny the first time. Even Update has become somewhat predictable.

On the positive side, Jim Carrey is killing it as Biden. He's right up there with Ackroyd's Dole, Carvey's Bush/Perot, Hartman's Clinton and David's Sanders on the all-time best SNL political impressions.

But if they're using comedians from outside the show to play recurring characters, that's all they should be doing. On a couple of episodes it seemed like Maya Rudolph was getting more screen time than the actresses who are actually on the main cast.

I also have to say that Pete Davidson's "Chad" is the worst recurring character the show has had since Julia Sweeney's "Pat". I honestly can't believe that they keep bringing it back. Who finds it funny?

 

[Langdon Alger]

I've found the season so far to be underwhelming. The writing has gotten very lazy; either they go for easy childish gags, or they repeat ideas from past sketches that weren't that funny the first time. Even Update has become somewhat predictable.

On the positive side, Jim Carrey is killing it as Biden. He's right up there with Ackroyd's Dole, Carvey's Bush/Perot, Hartman's Clinton and David's Sanders on the all-time best SNL political impressions.

But if they're using comedians from outside the show to play recurring characters, that's all they should be doing. On a couple of episodes it seemed like Maya Rudolph was getting more screen time than the actresses who are actually on the main cast.

I also have to say that Pete Davidson's "Chad" is the worst recurring character the show has had since Julia Sweeney's "Pat". I honestly can't believe that they keep bringing it back. Who finds it funny?

is Chad the character that just always says “ok”? That character is so useless, but I just dislike Davidson in general. Don’t get his appeal at all. I never got Leslie Jones either, so I can’t say I miss her much.

You know who I’m noticing in a good way this season is Chloe Fineman. They are using her more than last season, and I think she’s been good.

They could use 2-3 more really strong cast members, especially if Kate, Cecily and Aidy move along soon.

 

[irishsetter13]

I am not the biggest Davidson fan but the "Stu" sketch from last week may be one of my favorite SNL sketches in the past couple of years. It was brilliant, hilarious and so close to Stan that it was funny but recognizable. Kudos to SNL and Pete on that one. Brilliant.

 

[NyQuil]

I think Pete Davidson does decent rants on Update and his music videos are good.

That's about it, but I still kind of like his self-deprecating style.

Aside from Update and some of the pre-recorded advertisements, I've also been a bit underwhelmed this year, but I'm not sure how much COVID-19 is affecting everything.

In fact, there are relatively few live sketches that I've liked - most of what's been good has been pre-recorded.

 

[Langdon Alger]

I am not the biggest Davidson fan but the "Stu" sketch from last week may be one of my favorite SNL sketches in the past couple of years. It was brilliant, hilarious and so close to Stan that it was funny but recognizable. Kudos to SNL and Pete on that one. Brilliant.

Meh.

 

[ghostnights]

Chloe Fineman needs to feature more. I liked the bit about killing the bit. As a teacher, I see kids constantly kill good bits. It's excruciating.

 

[John Price]

 

[NyQuil]

Decent episode I thought.

I’ll give Chalamet credit - he really committed to it.

Sportsmaxx might have been my favourite skit.

 

[Raging Bull]

Melissa Villasenor is one of the most talented cast members they've had in years and she barely gets used.

 

[BostonBob]

Chloe Fineman needs to feature more.

Absolutely agree.