Sarah Silverman spent a total of 18 episodes as a cast member on Saturday Night Live during its 19th season in 1993-94. Only Ben Stiller (four), Damon Wayans (12), and Paul Shaffer (13) appeared in fewer episodes as cast members and have been asked back to host SNL.
Looking back at those 18 episodes, it’s hard to see Silverman having the post-SNL career that she has since she barely appeared on screen. This tidbit wasn’t lost on the writers or Silverman when they used footage of a younger Silverman asking questions of hosts during the 19th season to ask Silverman questions during her monologue.
Cold Open: 60 Minutes
Barack Obama has been President for almost six years, and SNL still has not figured out how to make him work in a sketch. Sure, Jay Pharoah’s impression is great, but it’s almost too good. SNL has spent 40 years working to make us believe that our presidents are dopes, but with President Obama, they have made him boring. Which may be true, but it’s not usually funny. Kind of like this cold open. Sure, it had a couple of laughs, but ultimately it was a boring start to the show.
Best Sketch: Forgotten TV Gems
Unlike last week, there were some very good sketches in this episode. “Forgotten TV Gems” has some great work from the cast, and Silverman turns in her best performance of the night. “Forgotten TV Gems” also sees the return of Reese De’What (Kenan Thompson), who steals this sketch with lines like, “Audiences tuned in, in whatever the opposite of droves is.”
De’What previously appeared last season during the Tina Fey episode as the host of “Cinema Classics,” and has to be one of the more unusual recurring characters currently on SNL.
Worst Sketch: Vitamix
This odd infomercial was easily the worst sketch of the night. The joke is either that a $650 juicer is funny, or that Anne (Silverman) can’t afford one. The “10-to-1” sketch is typically very weird or outrageous, but so far this season, both sketches have been neither.
Weekend Update Moment: What Can Colin Say?
In my season preview, one of my “ideas” for this season was having “Weekend Update” anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che discuss racial issues. This week, Jost and Che discussed whether or not it is all right for Jost to use words like, “bae,” or phrases like, “in da club.” Che also listed a couple things he cannot say including, “Thank you for your help, officer.”
Che and Jost had a solid week, and appear to be gelling quickly as co-anchors. Appearances from Al Sharpton (Thompson), and the feminist duo Garage and Her (Silverman and Kate McKinnon) may have actually taken a back seat to the “news” Che and Jost were reading this week.
Standout Performer: Sarah Silverman
While Silverman wasn’t perfect as host, she appeared in every segment outside of the cold open. Very few hosts do that, and it’s always the sign of a good host when they are open to any ideas thrown at them during their week at SNL. Silverman also stood out because the remaining roles were spread out among the cast with long-time cast members Bobby Moynihan and Vanessa Bayer only appearing in two sketches each.
Other Notes:
After his debut last week, new cast member Pete Davidson appeared in zero sketches this week. He was the only cast member not to appear in a sketch. Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine appeared in two sketches.
The selection of Train’s “Hey, Soul Sister” for the “Whites” sketch was either a stroke of genius or the most obvious choice. Former cast member Mike O’Brien also appeared in this sketch.
The monologue questions from young Sarah Silverman were from the Rosie O’Donnell, Jeff Goldblum, and Nancy Kerrigan episodes from season 19.
Next week’s host is Bill Hader with musical guest Hozier.
