Amy Schumer is the first professional comedian of Season 48 to host and so her monologue was basically a tried-and-true set that worked. This episode graded out as the second best one of the young season, which can wholly be attributed to the fact that a comedian can just stack laughs out of the gate in their monologue and thus skew the final score. We’ll see if that’s a liability of the grading system going forward. Schumer can be sort of a Kyle Mooney in that if you like her, even the stuff that doesn’t really work kinda/sorta works. From there the episode was challenged by some takes that leave us wondering whom, exactly, SNL might be attempting to appeal to.
I thought the Covid commercial was an astute commentary on how desperate modern society is for a mental health awareness revolution, but I can also see the point of view that it’s insensitive to people who are really struggling with a debilitating illness. It also features upper-middle-class values where a white homemaker has the luxury of kicking her husband and children out of their palatial estate for two weeks. One wonders how many Americans can truly relate to that. Another sketch takes aim at some under-educated members of society, which rubbed people the wrong way. I thought of it as a commentary on how psychotic people get around cameras and how man-on-the-street interviews tend to feature the least informed among us. For more detailed and intelligent commentary on the sketches themselves I suggest popping over to our friends at Pajiba.
With all that in mind, when I chronicle the laughs, I try to just focus on the sketches themselves as standalone entities and I recognize the inherent luxury of being able to see them in a bubble rather than a reflection of all the misery in the world. “I just want to focus on the funny” without analyzing the connective tissue or societal implications is the admitted height of privilege, but I also don’t know how to track the jokes without viewing it that way. What you won’t see reflected in these stats is the best part of the episode: Cecily Strong’s impassioned plea for people to vote. It wasn’t funny, but it was powerful. Sadly, this exercise is an attempt to only measure the funny, if such a thing is even remotely possible.
One note: Molly Kearney continues to dominate. Their laughs-per-seconds-on-the-screen ratio has to be off the charts.
Let’s get to the stats.
A word on Laughstatting:
Everyone has a different sense of humor, so the things that I laugh at will most likely not be the exact same things you laugh at. The goal of this exercise is not to convince anyone, but to say “here’s what worked for me” and hopefully, if our tastes are similar enough, maybe it worked for you too and the overall stats for the season will have some value. It also strangely works if you have polar opposite taste to me, because you’ll know the episodes that were a hit for me might not land with you.
I try to be very generous with my rankings in the hopes that eventually a more clear picture of the cast and season will shape itself and contribute to some additional insight. And we get charts.
Who doesn’t love a good chart?
Cold Open
Written by: Will Stephen, Bryan Tucker
Concept: Current, and stupidly, exasperatingly always trying to play the middle ground between parties
Execution: Good, if you want to destroy democracy and pretend that the difference between Democratic and Republican candidates is that Democrats aren’t ‘exiting’ enough to be traitors.
S – James Austin Johnson: “So you can share your Paul Pelosi gay, erotic fiction at light speed.”
s – James Austin Johnson: “You right wingers sure do love thinking up these gay little scenarios.”
S – James Austin Johnson: “Kinda sus.”
S – James Austin Johnson: “Google young Joe Biden and start a bubble bath.”
S – James Austin Johnson: saying yeah to the bubble bath applause
s – James Austin Johnson: “America’s next defense against the dark arts teacher, folks.”
S – Molly Kearney: reveal in Guy Fieri costume
s – Cecily Strong: “I’m willing to debase myself and enter US politics.”
S – Cecily Strong: “I’m willing to reach around the aisle to get things done.”
l – Cecily Strong: “Yeah sure, you do you.”
l – Ego Nwodim: “I’m a witch, bitch.”
s – Kenan Thompson: intro as Tracey Morgan
S – Kenan Thompson: “Why don’t you come over here and rub my belly.”
S – Kenan Thompson: Flub and smile on “whenever you good, baby girl.”
Monologue
Written By: Amy Schumer, with an assist from Rosebud Baker
s – Amy Schumer: “midterm abortions.”
S – Amy Schumer: “Sorry I was thinking about what’s at stake if we don’t vote.”
S – Amy Schumer: “So I immediately signed up…for a C section.”
S – Amy Schumer: “It came out the sunroof.”
S – Amy Schumer: “They almost never come out of your butthole.”
L – Amy Schumer: “Hey remember when you just Wolverined my fupa open?”
S – Amy Schumer: “How about six years?”
S – Amy Schumer: “His foot got caught in my intestines. When can I get rawdogged from behind? Please!”
S – Amy Schumer: “You think I don’t want you to see me.”
S – Amy Schumer: “I can’t go down on you, you’re my emergency contact for christ’s sake.”
S – Amy Schumer: “He’s like no you’re not.”
L – Amy Schumer: “I…am in a coma.”
S – Amy Schumer: “Go.”
l – Amy Schumer: “Nazi ties Kanye.”
S – Amy Schumer: “Oh, does he love to count?”
l – Amy Schumer: “Should we drop a bunch of straws on the floor and he can gather them and count them?”
S – Amy Schumer: “I’m like yeah.”
l – Amy Schumer: “He tells me I look comfortable a lot.”
l – Amy Schumer: “I’m gonna go put the windows up in the car.”
L – Amy Schumer: “That’s one of the times we play the game Autism or Just A Man?”
S – Amy Schumer: “Well, it’s too late.”
Soup
Written by: Alison Gates, Streeter Seidell, Kent Sublette
Concept: Crafty use of weirdness/absurdity to bolster a featherlight concept
Execution: Undercooked with lots of card reading
s – Amy Schumer: “Well you can’t have any” awkwardness
S – Amy Schumer: “Yeah let’s like eat and then talk.”
S – Amy Schumer: “Take as long as you need. Like, go outside.”
s – Amy Schumer: looking at others enjoying soup
S – Kenan Thompson: “Without looking like an a-hole.”
s – Kenan Thompson: “Nevermind she just started crying.”
Covid Commercial
Concept: Brilliant, Black Jeopardy level take
Execution: Flawless
S – Sarah Sherman: audible sigh
s – Sarah Sherman: covid reveal
S – Sarah Sherman: “My doctor suggested I get covid and it was the greatest week of my life.”
S – Michael Longfellow: “I’m triple vaxxed. Quadruple if you count HPV.”
l – Sarah Sherman: Jumping on bed then exaggerated cough
s – Andrew Dismukes: “But, uh…what do they eat?”
l – Cecily Strong: “At this point, Covid is like a 10-day cruise, which is also a great way to GET covid.”
l – Sarah Sherman: “Covid Always Positive home test.”
l – Sarah Sherman: “It comes with two pink lines already drawn on.”
l – Heidi Gardner: “Again?”
S – Andrew Dismukes: “Please don’t do this to me.”
S – Cecily Strong: “Because sometimes the only way to get mentally healthy is to get physically sick.”
S – Michael Longfellow: “Either way.”
Jurors
Written by: Martin Herlihy, John Higgins, Ben Marshall, Celeste Yim
Concept: Absurdist take on modern juries
Execution: Very good
s – Bowen Yang: “So sorry we just did not expect ‘traces of blood’”.
s – Amy Schumer: multiple lacerations to her abdomen reaction.
s – Bowen Yang: multiple lacerations to her abdomen reaction.
s – Sarah Sherman: multiple lacerations to her abdomen reaction.
s – Sarah Sherman: “look at me I’m shaking.”
s – Amy Schumer: “My heart is beating so fast my Apple Watch thinks I’m getting steps.”
s – Bowen Yang: “Could you please yassify us?”
l – Bowen Yang: “Oh my god now the murderer is yelling at us?”
S – Bowen Yang: “ok, now the judge is trying to silence three women of color.”
l – Sarah Sherman: bored face
S – Kenan Thompson: “That is not a song from Midnight.”
S – Amy Schumer: “Oh my god, did you need this?”
l – Amy Schumer: “I’m so sorry, this Chicken Cacciatore is like tough.”
S – Kenan Thompson: missing with the gavel
S – Amy Schumer: “Who am I?”
s – Kenan Thompson: “Oh you the dead wife!”
Twitter Council
Written by: Ceara O’Sullivan, Josh Patten, Streeter Seidell, Will Stephen
Concept: Ripped from the headlines. An obvious way in but the take lacked imagination.
Execution: Warm piss. Why does SNL keep having Trump sketches?
s – Bowen Yang: “I served honorably in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2”
l – Amy Schumer: “www.sexpalace.bitcoinscam.iraq.”
S – Amy Schumer: “I bet you have an awesome social security number.”
The Looker
Written by: Rosebud Baker, Streeter Seidell
Concept: Clever horror pivot
Execution: It didn’t quite get there, though the execution was solid
s – Amy Schumer: “I know, that’s why it’s weird that all my stuff is made up.”
s – Amy Schumer: “You got this, bitch.”
l – Amy Schumer: “ooh” orgasm
S – Amy Schumer: cross-eyed
Weekend Update
s – Michael Che: “Now all they have to do is launch some children to assemble it.”
s – Michael Che: “Ranging from the top salary all the way down to the female salary.”
s – Michael Che: “What happened to you, man?”
S – Colin Jost: “While the worst-sounding names are moist and slurp.”
S – Michael Che: “So if the sun can smile, would it kill you ladies to try it?”
s – Colin Jost: “Like a loser.”
s – Cecily Strong: “or peacock, wherever that counts as.”
S – Cecily Strong: “you are riding my ass.”
S – Cecily Strong: “look I’m backin’ up about 50 years in the past.”
Jets Fans
Written by: Streeter Seidell, Bryan Tucker
Concept: Minimalist hit job on Jets fans
Execution: Accurate and good if you can actually laugh at it through the pain
s – Andrew Dismukes: “Where do kids even learn this stuff?”
S – Amy Schumer: “You want a friggin medal? Have a drink, slut!”
L – Amy Schumer: “Keep walkin’ ya douchebags!” To kids
S – Mikey Day: “Yeah run right into traffic you freakin’ douchebags!”
S – Cecily Strong: “Suck my sleeve, buddy! Suck it front to back!”
S – Andrew Dismukes: “Oh, ya gonna go all slow?”
s – Amy Schumer: “Friggin’ hump!”
Pinx Period Underwear
Concept: Interesting but lacking a clear punchline
Execution: Solid, considering
l – Amy Schumer: dog jumping on her reveal
s – Mikey Day: “What?”
l – Cecily Strong: “Biblical.”
WKTVN News
Written by: Kent Sublette, Celeste Yim
Concept: Familiar man-on-the-street news stuff with inbred yokels
Execution: Legit
s – Heidi Gardner: “…delicious treats.”
S – Bowen Yang: reveal behind Cecily
S – Amy Schumer: cousin reveal
S – Amy Schumer: “I wanna lay witchu.”
l – Molly Kearney: local idiot running in
S – Molly Kearney: “look what I can do!”
s – Marcello Hernández: “look what I can do!”
S – Amy Schumer: “set fire to upon your house and your trampoline upon fire.”
S – Michael Longbottom: “No! No! Do not film these three cousins kissing!”
Big Penis Therapy
Written by: Michael Che, Gary Richardson
Concept: Still not 100% sure. A commentary on how all small-penis guys need is BDE?
Execution: Good attempt but rough with few laughs (probably looked better on the page)
s – Andrew Dismukes: “Or the guys from Long Naturals magazine.”
Big Dumb Hats
Written by: Alison Gates, Kent Sublette
Concept: On point and relatable
Execution: Excellent
S – Chloe Fineman: “Oh, her.”
S – Amy Schumer: “She wasn’t mean or nice.”
s – Amy Schumer: big hate reveal “you tell me.”
S – Heidi Gardner: “I made a baby in this hat.”
s – Amy Schumer: “Complicated morning routine and fake gluten allergy.”
S – Amy Schumer: “Maybe!”
s – Chloe Fineman: “From the makers of dumb little dog.”
Writing credits cribbed from Reddit user memesistential
