Vintage SNL fans, rejoice: my latest assortment of #SNL reviews is finally up for S13! Will the show's comfort in not having to radically reinvent itself for the first time in years serve to its benefit or detriment? Here's what I thought! www.mattalamode.com/2025/04/satu...

Cold open: It's always surprising to see a host in the cold open, doubly so when the host isn't that well known to many viewers. I wonder how many might think that Mikey is a new cast member. Hopefully this is a good sign of their faith in her as a host. #SNL

re: Mikey Madison on #SNL. Welp, that was about as I expected: not very good! Or it's a difficult episode, really, because it has so many distinct issues instead of one very glaring one, unless you were to simply generalize it as "weak," which... is valid. But I wanna dig into it a lil bit. (1/9)

I didn't really write anything on the previous #SNL episode hosted by Lady Gaga but ahead of tonight's ep, I thought I'd say a tiny bit. Mostly that it feels that the show, even when doing admirable things, doesn't fully coalesce. It's kind of hard to tell what a "good" episode should be anymore.

After one long year, my final #SNL review of S13 is up on the Patreon for the unintended season finale, hosted by Judge Reinhold! Check it out: www.patreon.com/posts/2-27-8...

Cold open: The Curb Your Enthusiasm music jokes. This show is bang on trend, as always. #SNL

This last episode of SNL was kind of batshit in a way that makes me feel a need to sit with it before I can speak in it, because I can't tell if I appreciated it or was frustrated by it. Will circle back tomorrow!

Cold open: Positive was the lack of cable news cold open. Negative was everything else. Mad libs, Bowen doing his old routine as Vance, incoherent, sluggish tone, Trump listicle, Mike Myers as Austin Musk, Marcello mug. Sky News Australia and the grifter right-wing will love this. Anyone else? #SNL

re: Shane Gillis on #SNL. It's been a sec since I've written about an ep, and in my time off, I missed two especially strong outings for this season: Chalamet and the 50th. I liked both a lot! And I liked this one too, a decent amount. I feel more obligated to qualify that here, though. (1/11)

Tom Hanks might think that his S13 hosting gig wasn't up to snuff, but what about me? Check out my latest #SNL review over on Patreon! www.patreon.com/posts/2-20-8...

Chinese Ai vs US Ai - feels like an appropriate time to share this scene from the show (2018)

This week in #SNL on the ol' Patreon: Justine Bateman pays a visit to 8H, and things happen! Are they memorable things? Not really, but I wrote about em! Check it out here: www.patreon.com/posts/2-13-8...

Now I don't want to over-examine the goodnights like it's the goddamn Zapruder film, but I did jokingly ask some friends if we'd see Bowen do a damage control, image-conscious hug with Dave tonight, and the answer is: yep! The joy between these two is palpable. #SNL

re: Chappelle on #SNL. Look. I'm not happy that it happened. I might be among the least happy that it happened, as someone who's incredibly connected to the marginalized communities that he's so relentlessly refused to understand over the years, angered, and exploited. But I watched it anyway (1/12)

Cold open: So glad we are starting with my favorite writing choice for modern news parodies on this show - having the anchors immediately saying overly self-aware and nonsensical things. #SNL

Can a headline alone be eligible for a Pulitzer?

David Lynch gave us the language we needed to better articulate the indescribable strangeness of our shared reality. “Lynchian” is so overused because it’s a viscerally understandable word without any known synonyms. I can’t imagine a more beautiful artistic legacy than that.

Ahead of what will no doubt be an outstanding episode of SNL, I thought I'd post my rankings of the first half of S50. No great shakes! It's actually, at the moment, the lowest ranked season I have ever written about which is... damning to say the least!

Mitchell Kriegman’s unused SNL cast photo along with my own shitty mock-up of how it could’ve looked in the credits

Hilarious to hear that #SNL was apparently struggling so much to generate new ideas for Martin Short, even BEYOND what we saw, that the dress cuts include a rewrite of the Christmas Carol sketch, Treece Henderson, and fucking Minky. So maybe the show was just broken from day one.

re: Paul Rudd, Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and Dana Carvey on #SNL. Oh wait, it was the Martin Short episode! What the actual hell happened here? (1/8)

Cold open: I'm not the biggest fan of 5-timer navel gazing, but I'll admit it was fascinating to see so many alum on display and more reminders of which hosts still have sharp comic timing and which still don't. And Tina gets to return to shit on the cast, which she always loves. #SNL

This week in S13 on the ol' Patreon: Carl Weathers carl-fully weathers (I know) through his first and only #SNL outing! Read all about it here: www.patreon.com/posts/1-30-8...

Cold open: In honor of the show's 50th anniversary, they have decided to bring back a mediocre Amy Poehler impression from 20 years ago. (and this was cut already once this season...) I suppose I shouldn't complain too much as I have begged them to avoid politics and now they are. #SNL

re: Chris Rock on #SNL. Expectations were low. Chris is a very strange host... for as much of a comedy icon as he is, let alone as a former cast member, he has *never* been a good host. I liken him to an athlete in ability: wooden, awkward, sad? With that being said... (1/7)

I didn't catch the full episode tonight but I'll report back when I'm able! From what I saw, I'm not terribly upset.

Hey folks! Just in time for, uh, Christmas, it's the second half of my slasher rankings! fryvaultgrab.blogspot.com/2024/12/slas...

Cold open: Is Alec Baldwin just hanging around backstage? Did no one else want to play RFK Jr? Did he briefly try to do the voice, realize it's impossible, and decide to just do his Trump voice with less makeup? Am I meant to be thrilled with any of this? #SNL

re: Charli XCX on #SNL. Okay. Is it officially the time to start being worried about where the show is at right now? I think it is. Sure, some episodes are just fated to be awful; it's the SNL way. But this felt awful in a systemic way. I think it'll be a hard season. (1/7)

Cold open: That should have been just 2-3 minutes and Dana Carvey bringing back Hans and Frans and Jagger (kudos to the people who reminded me of the latter) in another role he took from poor irrelevant Mikey was completely unnecessary, but still, this could have been much, much worse. #SNL

re: Bill Burr on #SNL. I always have to extend grace to SNL in times as difficult as these. There's such a pressure to respond to national tragedy, which is all the harder given this misplaced level of expectation that the show, after 50 years, can't earnestly carry. BUT... (1/8)

Cold open: We're getting much more of JAJ's Trump front and center than we have all season. Either a goodbye to his Trump, or a reminder that we may well have four more years of this. JAJ is great as always. This is joyless to watch, as always. #SNL

re: Mulaney on #SNL. Well, aren't expectations a pain to have? Not to be unfair to the show, but... John Mulaney is John Mulaney. A tastemaker, one of the show's greatest acolytes, and someone who's proven his worth with several classic episodes under his belt. And yet... (1/7)

Cold open: Oh yippee...Alec Baldwin. Just what everyone was waiting for. Sorry to be negative right off the bat, but no matter how much of a legend he may be with the show, I just didn't need to see him again, and the shakiness at the start wasn't very reassuring. #SNL

re: Michael Keaton on #SNL. Hmm. The dial hasn't moved much from last week, but that's not necessarily a *bad* thing. SNL is enjoyable, but frequently disposable. I get wanting more and the dissatisfaction of long-time fans, but on the other hand: pleasant enough viewing! (1/6)

Cold open: Family Feud? Steve Harvey? They really are pining for 2016. Maya is even getting the old Kate Hillary lines. We do seem to be getting a repeat of so much of that year, but in the show's case, sadly, they will not be getting those ratings, no matter how hard they wish. #SNL

re: Ariana Grande on #SNL. I suspect this one might be polarizing, but I thought it was decent. Maybe a step below last week's, but not THAT much lower. It was, I'd argue, the usual bag of hits and misses, and one that functioned more with its eyes on hitting up stan twt... (1/6)

Before Ariana Grande's hosting gig this Saturday, why not revisit another fellow tiny musician's #SNL episode with my review of Paul Simon's S13 outing? Check it out on my Patreon here, if you're cool! patreon.com/posts/12-19-...

Yes, I am still writing. I'm working as hard as I can! Hopefully will push Paul Simon out over the next few days 👍

Since I commented on the premiere, I suppose I'll keep it up. I thought this Nate Bargatze gig was a step up for the show, if not as much of a home run as his last gig—a pretty damn high bar to clear. It feels more indicative of the season we'll have than I expected. #SNL (1/3)

Maya eating up time for actual cast members by pointlessly correcting a flub that wasn't bad, Andy Samberg getting applause for walking into a room and sitting down...oh this is going to be bad. #SNL

I DESPERATELY want to stump for SNL when I think people are being too critical of it, but man, this last episode would be easy, credible evidence for a thinkpiece on how SNL is the deadest that it's ever been.

November already has distinctly unplaceable vibes and it scares me

At long last, my in-depth breakdown of SNL's 12th season is finally here! Will the likes of Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, Dana Carvey, and Kevin Nealon take the show to a level of greatness it hasn't seen in years? (Spoiler: yes.) Here's what I thought! www.mattalamode.com/2023/10/satu...

My very first standup special is now available here: youtu.be/9_97zE4GRZk

SEASON PREMIERE: We're back for the seventh season of That Week! Join us as we discuss the S2 premiere with Lily Tomlin & James Taylor, featuring the first debate sketch, the final Muppets, the Antler Dance and more! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

I've been so wrapped up in things lately but I'm finally starting the Dennis Hopper review, and hoping to release it in early October at the latest... and then from there, I'll be able to get all of my S12 coverage released on my site! Thanks for your patience.

Garry Shandling review impending! Hopefully the S12 coverage can wrap soon!

he's funny