Ah, SNL... It's great to have you back! The 40th (!!!!!) season premiere, hosted by Chris Pratt, had me excited but, honestly, the episode really didn't live up to my high expectations. Was it terrible? Absolutely not. Was it outstanding? No. It was a solid episode that showed positives that can definitely be expanded on, but still displayed some troubling tendencies.
Because I am such an eternal optimist (sarcasm), I will mainly focus on the things that I liked from the show. However, I have two pretty big gripes from this episode. First: Why can SNL not figure out how to end a sketch? There were some sketches that showed promise (like the Killam and Pratt He-Man and Lion-O one), that really fizzled at the end because, well, there wasn't an ending (although Ariana Grande really shut that sketch down before it was even over). If the writers could just improve on the endings to sketches, the overall quality of the episodes would be soooo much better. My biggest gripe deserves its own paragraph:
WHERE WAS KATE MCKINNON!??!?!?!
Who is the funniest cast member? Kate McKinnon is. Who was nominated for an Outstanding Supporting Actress Emmy? Kate McKinnon was. Which SNL was most criminally underused for this episode? You guessed it, Kate McKinnon. In an episode that really did a great job of displaying the talent of newcomers, it's a damn shame that SNL couldn't showcase the out-of-this-wordly talent of their most talented performer. But let's talk about good stuff.
Here is everything I liked about this episode: Kenan talking about school buses, Jay Pharoah's Shannon Sharpe impression, the Marvel short (I would watch all of those, especially the Pam movies), remembering how awesome Cecily Strong's recurring Weekend Update characters are, Leslie Jones, Michael Che (he's already better than Colin Jost and that's with a nervous beginning), anything with Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney, and Kenan singing about Obama and how maybe his after-presidency may not be that great after all. But what did I like most of all?
PETE FUCKING DAVIDSON.
Holy crap, this is a way to make your debut on SNL. I have watched his segment like 3 times now, and I still think it is absolutely hysterical. He has an impressive confidence level for only being 20, a confidence that should grow as he becomes more comfortable and is used more frequently on the show. I was a bit skeptical about him at first- it really seemed like he would just be another Brooks Wheelan- but boy was I wrong. I don't know what it is, but this kid just has it. And, yes I can call him a kid because I am older than him, which really just makes me sad. He reminds me so much of a young Adam Sandler, back before Adam Sandler made really shitty movies and was actually really funny, and kind of looks like a cross between Jon Cryer and Andy Samberg, but oh well. Is 1 episode a bit early to judge one's performance a bit ambitious? Sure, but I just have this feeling about Davidson. The Pete Davidson rocket has lifted off, and I will fucking drive that thing to super-stardom if I have to.
Long live SNL.
Alex
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