Saturday Night Live: Miles Teller / Kendrick Lamar
October 2, 2022 2:01 AM - Season 48, Episode 1 - Subscribe
Season 48 premiere
- Cold Open - Manningcast: Miles Teller, Andrew Dismukes, Michael Longfellow, Chloe Fineman, James Austin Johnson, Bowen Yang, Heidi Gardner, Sarah Sherman, Jon Hamm, Devon Walker, Shawn White
- Monologue: Miles Teller
- Send Something Normal: Miles Teller, Mikey Day, James Austin Johnson, Kenan Thompson, Bowen Yang
- Be Real Bank Robbery: Miles Teller, Mikey Day, Heidi Gardner, Bowen Yang, Sarah Sherman, Andrew Dismukes, Ego Nwodim
- Charmin Bears: Kenan Thompson, Punkie Johnson, Miles Teller, Heidi Gardner, Bowen Yang
- Day Traders: Mikey Day, Miles Teller, Ego Nwodim, Chloe Fineman
- AMC: Chloe Fineman, Kenan Thompson, Michael Longfellow, James Austin Johnson, Molly Kearney, Punkie Johnson
- Kendrick Lamar - Rich Spirit/N95
- Weekend Update: Michael Che, Colin Jost
- Mitch McConnell & Herschel Walker: James Austin Johnson, Kenan Thompson
- Michael Longfellow
- Spotted Lantern Fly: Bowen Yang, Andrew Dismukes
- McDonaldland: Bowen Yang, Mikey Day, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson, Miles Teller
- Kendrick Lamar - Father Time (feat. Sampha)
- Carribean Queen: Ego Nwodim, Heidi Gardner, Punkie Johnson, Miles Teller, Kenan Thompson
Really? That felt like a single interminable joke. I felt like burying my head in my hands after watching the first clip and then they brought it back. And then it went on for, I assume, longer than the lifetime of a lanternfly.
posted by transient at 2:12 PM on October 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by transient at 2:12 PM on October 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
James Austin Johnson continues to absolutely nail his impressions. Truly talented.
Day Traders went on for far too long but swoleGrimace made my day.
posted by porpoise at 5:16 PM on October 2, 2022
Day Traders went on for far too long but swoleGrimace made my day.
posted by porpoise at 5:16 PM on October 2, 2022
Just slotting Longfellow straight into that Pete position, ain't they.
posted by Etrigan at 6:21 PM on October 2, 2022
posted by Etrigan at 6:21 PM on October 2, 2022
Be Real Bank Robbery was pretty funny. Say Something Normal, too. WU had an odd feel about it. Like it was thrown together at the last minute or something? I dunno. Still pretty funny. Kendrick Lamar? Ugh. Just unlistenable.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:00 PM on October 2, 2022
posted by Thorzdad at 8:00 PM on October 2, 2022
Was there really no warning for the heavy use of strobe lights during the first music segment? I have only basic awareness of this issue, but even I felt I had to look away from that. Over and over again. Here is a warning, if there is no other.
posted by sylvanshine at 8:27 PM on October 2, 2022
posted by sylvanshine at 8:27 PM on October 2, 2022
I thought Kendrick Lamar's performance was amazing, especially the first song, extremely effective minimalist staging with really interesting but subtle electronics that foregrounded his voice nicely. (If you don't like his music at all, then yeah, "unlistenable" I guess, but I would hesitate to call the music of any Pulitzer prize winner literally unlistenable....)
Rest of the show was OK, but I maintain that the write-the-week-of, live sketch format is an anachronism that no amount of clever comedy writing/performance can overcome.
posted by LooseFilter at 8:06 AM on October 3, 2022 [4 favorites]
Rest of the show was OK, but I maintain that the write-the-week-of, live sketch format is an anachronism that no amount of clever comedy writing/performance can overcome.
posted by LooseFilter at 8:06 AM on October 3, 2022 [4 favorites]
I thought the clear standouts were the bank robbery and McDonaldland, as far as that goes. If they're going to make "first sketch game show" a real thing they should put a little more writing into them, this one was essentially the same answers to slightly different setups. I don't know what Charmin Bears was about, and think it might have been a waste for a subject that is RIPE for mockery. Caribbean Queen and Day Traders were the same sketch and for whatever reason had none of the energy of the Night at the Roxbury brothers or any of the other duo characters like Perfect Cheer, Jan Hooks/Nora Dunn lounge singers, I Hate it When That Happens, or even Doug and Wendy Whiner.
The AMC thing was bizarre, maybe just a mess of a product placement?
posted by rhizome at 12:36 PM on October 3, 2022
The AMC thing was bizarre, maybe just a mess of a product placement?
posted by rhizome at 12:36 PM on October 3, 2022
The AMC thing was bizarre, maybe just a mess of a product placement?
Context.
posted by mykescipark at 5:12 PM on October 3, 2022 [4 favorites]
Context.
posted by mykescipark at 5:12 PM on October 3, 2022 [4 favorites]
>Rest of the show was OK, but I maintain that the write-the-week-of, live sketch format is an anachronism that no amount of clever comedy writing/performance can overcome.
That attitude mildly shocks me, I see it as an essential American artform that when done well would be more relevant than ever in this day-and-age of instant-reaction. Anachronism or not, good writing and performance absolutely can and does succeed, don't see the anachronism as even being something to overcome. It's the only Variety Show we have left.
posted by GoblinHoney at 8:48 AM on October 4, 2022 [3 favorites]
That attitude mildly shocks me, I see it as an essential American artform that when done well would be more relevant than ever in this day-and-age of instant-reaction. Anachronism or not, good writing and performance absolutely can and does succeed, don't see the anachronism as even being something to overcome. It's the only Variety Show we have left.
posted by GoblinHoney at 8:48 AM on October 4, 2022 [3 favorites]
My lip curled into a snarl when they did that thing in the cold open about the lack of "political balance" in their comedy, how it was so ridiculous to waste time on Trump when Biden was "losing his marbles." They were clearly announcing their intention to double down on the Both Sides stuff. And the crazy thing is, I'm not even sure who is buying that shit anymore. It disgusts everybody on the left, while conservatives will just whine about those nasty NY liberals attacking their dear leader no matter what this show actually does.
The SNL writer's room seems to be this weird breeding ground for aggressively centrist comics, going back at least to the late 80s. When this show starts off a new season with a declaration that they've been too tough on poor ol' Trump and they need to make more jokes about Biden's supposed senility, that's going to play well to Rob Schneider, Victoria Jackson, Dennis Miller and a lot of other wackjob has-beens who've worked at 30 Rock, but... that's about it.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 2:37 AM on October 5, 2022 [4 favorites]
The SNL writer's room seems to be this weird breeding ground for aggressively centrist comics, going back at least to the late 80s. When this show starts off a new season with a declaration that they've been too tough on poor ol' Trump and they need to make more jokes about Biden's supposed senility, that's going to play well to Rob Schneider, Victoria Jackson, Dennis Miller and a lot of other wackjob has-beens who've worked at 30 Rock, but... that's about it.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 2:37 AM on October 5, 2022 [4 favorites]
Just watched it. I thought it was ok for a season premier. I didn't see the Top Gun movie so I wasn't familiar with the host but he was pretty good. I honestly didn't know if it was really Payton Manning or an impression in the cold open. I enjoyed the meta cold open and like it when they do a thing with new cast members, even if it's a joke about how they're not going to get much air time.
WU was kind of weak. Loved the McD's sketch.
I'm not really into Kendrick Lamar's music but I thought the visuals were pretty good.
posted by bondcliff at 4:37 PM on October 5, 2022
WU was kind of weak. Loved the McD's sketch.
I'm not really into Kendrick Lamar's music but I thought the visuals were pretty good.
posted by bondcliff at 4:37 PM on October 5, 2022
I didn't like the cold open, and that colored my view of the rest of the episode. Felt like it was more about managing expectations than anything else. (I was going to make a Lowered Expectations joke, but then I remembered that was actually MadTV.)
A little surprised they didn't move James Austin Johnson to the main cast, considering how much they are clearly going to be leaning on him for political impressions.
posted by ckape at 9:14 PM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
A little surprised they didn't move James Austin Johnson to the main cast, considering how much they are clearly going to be leaning on him for political impressions.
posted by ckape at 9:14 PM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
Keeping JAJ as a featured player is probably just because he pretty much only played 45 last year. I bet he just has to stretch out a bit (helps to have fewer cast members!) and he was in a couple of regular-guy roles this week. He seems like probably a good addition overall.
posted by rhizome at 1:18 PM on October 7, 2022
posted by rhizome at 1:18 PM on October 7, 2022
I just saw it. From start to finish, I thought it was a good show. Teller did a great Peyton. So this show felt more like a mediocre normal mid-season show (and really a lot better than the other "rebuilding" years' shows) than a season opener with a lot of newbies.
Yeah, they played out some old tropes, missed a few good opportunities for jokes... and nailed a few others. You can start to see historically who is stepping into certain shoes—like the Carribean Queens felt like a BRIGHTLY LIT version of the ol' 10-to-1 "Last Call" sketch where McKinnon slobbers all over someone every time.
Devon Walker looks a lot like Pete Davidson, I'd like to see more of him. I'd like to see anything from Marcello Hernandez. Michael Longfellow's desk piece was pretty funny (my parents emigrated from New England to Phoenix in 1998, and I could relate to the "Parents being ultra-conservatives" schtick)... but I noticed that he has an interesting way he carries himself and looks into the camera. I didn't know if it was neurological in nature or just his Arizona leftie vibe, but he was very interesting to watch.
And Kendrick Lamar, yeah, Jess and I called the strobes before they even came on screen. I like the ways Kendrick used the tech in his stage design, but yeah, strobes are overplayed and yes dangerous to some. That said, jessamyn and I were trying to recall if we'd seen "warning: strobe effects ahead" cautions before, and I feel like I have, but only rarely and maybe only on cartoons to warn stoned parents watching Pokémon with their kids. It did make me wonder what kinds of content (kid's show? sports? music video?) or conduits of video content (Youtube? Gazing wondrously at an AMC movie screen? Network TV?) would-should-or-could be flagged, fined, or legislated into mandated "strobe warnings", if at all. Even though I suffer no ill effects from strobes, I know people for whom even driving by certain fences at a certain time of day, or similarly, evenly-spaced guardrails at certain speeds, makes them nauseated.
Anyway, I like Kendrick, but I know I am getting older when I have to just ride along with the jokes being funny or not, without any context to guide me. I thought the AMC one was funny but had no idea this was a THING this summer. I am slowly leaving SNL's target demo. I'll send pictures from Dad Joke City
posted by not_on_display at 9:05 PM on October 16, 2022
Yeah, they played out some old tropes, missed a few good opportunities for jokes... and nailed a few others. You can start to see historically who is stepping into certain shoes—like the Carribean Queens felt like a BRIGHTLY LIT version of the ol' 10-to-1 "Last Call" sketch where McKinnon slobbers all over someone every time.
Devon Walker looks a lot like Pete Davidson, I'd like to see more of him. I'd like to see anything from Marcello Hernandez. Michael Longfellow's desk piece was pretty funny (my parents emigrated from New England to Phoenix in 1998, and I could relate to the "Parents being ultra-conservatives" schtick)... but I noticed that he has an interesting way he carries himself and looks into the camera. I didn't know if it was neurological in nature or just his Arizona leftie vibe, but he was very interesting to watch.
And Kendrick Lamar, yeah, Jess and I called the strobes before they even came on screen. I like the ways Kendrick used the tech in his stage design, but yeah, strobes are overplayed and yes dangerous to some. That said, jessamyn and I were trying to recall if we'd seen "warning: strobe effects ahead" cautions before, and I feel like I have, but only rarely and maybe only on cartoons to warn stoned parents watching Pokémon with their kids. It did make me wonder what kinds of content (kid's show? sports? music video?) or conduits of video content (Youtube? Gazing wondrously at an AMC movie screen? Network TV?) would-should-or-could be flagged, fined, or legislated into mandated "strobe warnings", if at all. Even though I suffer no ill effects from strobes, I know people for whom even driving by certain fences at a certain time of day, or similarly, evenly-spaced guardrails at certain speeds, makes them nauseated.
Anyway, I like Kendrick, but I know I am getting older when I have to just ride along with the jokes being funny or not, without any context to guide me. I thought the AMC one was funny but had no idea this was a THING this summer. I am slowly leaving SNL's target demo. I'll send pictures from Dad Joke City
posted by not_on_display at 9:05 PM on October 16, 2022
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posted by the primroses were over at 8:04 AM on October 2, 2022 [1 favorite]