Second SNL At Home Aired 4/25/2020

[Marti Lawrence]

This was the second new episode of the experimental version of Saturday Night Live, which is somewhat of a misnomer, since I don't know if any of it was done "live" (I think all the skits were pre-taped, but Weekend Update might have been live). Nothing except a shot of the empty stage shown at the end was done in-studio, as far as I could tell.

 

They started with a cold open of Dr. Fauci, portrayed by Brad Pitt.  A reporter had asked the real Dr. Fauci if SNL does a parody of him, what actor would he like to see play him, and the doctor responded, "Brad Pitt" so they honored that.

 

There was a "What's Up With That" skit with Kenan Thompson, which featured two ladies doing the "whoo-wee" chorus, -and Jason Sudeikis doing his running-in-place dance wearing a red track suit.  The interview subjects were Charles Barkley and DJ Khaled, but as usual, the host went off on a riff and didn't actually interview them.  Bill Hader portrayed the never-gets-to-speak Lindsey Buckingham.  All were filmed individually and combined in editing.

 

Pete Davidson performed a music video that featured Adam Sandler.  Pete also appeared on Weekend Update, and said, "I haven't gotten a face tattoo yet, so a lot of people lost that bet."

 

Miley Cyrus was the musical guest, and performed from outdoors (her back yard maybe?)  She was in front of a very smoky fire pit as she performed a cover of Pink Floyd’s, "Wish You Were Here."

 

Aidy Bryant and Kate McKinnon were in a skit depicting them as owners of a small grocery store, highlighting the items they still have in stock because nobody wants them, such as Hawaiian pizza and Dasani water.

 

Overall, I enjoyed it a lot, and saw quite a bit of positive feedback on Twitter.  Eager to hear what y’all think.

[Bob Jersey]

Marti Lawrence, Sun. (4/26):

(Caution: both of these are from Gannett papers, who usually soft-paywall... )

A video of Michigan governor Whitmer (Cecily Strong) was cut from the show, but was posted to their 'toob early Sunday.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/26/snl-spoofs-michigan-gretchen-whitmer-coronavirus/3029309001/ (link)

The gov (on a Detroit news show) hissed 'cuz Strong, among other things, toted a beer that wasn't from her state.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/04/27/gretchen-whitmer-snl-beer/3032114001/ (link)

B

[JW]

> Overall, I enjoyed it a lot, and saw quite a bit of positive feedback on Twitter.  Eager to hear what y’all think.

It was better than the first one. That seemed like they just told each cast member to shoot something on their phone and submit it; this week looked like they put a lot more care into lighting, and into writing pieces that would use multiple cast members. I don't know if they can exceed the limitations of the situation long-term, though.

[M-D November]

Agreed - clearly, Lorne & the team saw that the first show (w/ Hanks) worked, and rather than rushing out another show the following week, took the time to:

1) distribute better-quality equipment, green screens, and costumes/props to the cast

2) give some thought to how sketches can work, beyond "hey, it's a Zoom call!" (although there's still a lot of that)

3) pull in some names (and Rob Schneider) to make these "at home" shows feel a little more special

4) UNLEASH THE KEENAN (in all seriousness, he's probably the most versatile guy in the cast - a true variety performer - and more than ever, he's the glue holding the show together)

True story - when my wife noticed last week that a second 'at home' show was on offer, I said to her that if this thing is going to go on for a while, they need to think about how to rework some classic sketch types - and I specifically mentioned "What's Up With That?" by name.  Imagine my shock when it was in the A Block.

[Tom Wolper]

On Tue, Apr 28, 2020 at 12:02 PM M-D November <mdnov...@gmail.com> wrote:

Agreed - clearly, Lorne & the team saw that the first show (w/ Hanks) worked, and rather than rushing out another show the following week, took the time to:

1) distribute better-quality equipment, green screens, and costumes/props to the cast

2) give some thought to how sketches can work, beyond "hey, it's a Zoom call!" (although there's still a lot of that)

3) pull in some names (and Rob Schneider) to make these "at home" shows feel a little more special

4) UNLEASH THE KEENAN (in all seriousness, he's probably the most versatile guy in the cast - a true variety performer - and more than ever, he's the glue holding the show together)

True story - when my wife noticed last week that a second 'at home' show was on offer, I said to her that if this thing is going to go on for a while, they need to think about how to rework some classic sketch types - and I specifically mentioned "What's Up With That?" by name.  Imagine my shock when it was in the A Block.

That would be why the first show's failures weren't a bad thing. With all of the disruptions to the making of their regular shows, the only way they can figure out how to make it work is to just keep trying, figure out what works and what doesn't, and implement improvements in the next show.