So... is it safe to talk about SNL again? While I was trying to get as much sleep as possible in the foxhole that I embedded myself in last night, I got the feeling that a few of you were not quite as happy with Saturday night's show as I seemed to be. But here's the thing: In the scorecard I did mention that (the now polarizing) Jeff Bridges was far from the best host of the season and that Saturday was also not the laugh-out-loud funniest show of the season. I'll admit, perhaps this is a flaw with the scoring system used, but what the Bridges installment had was a plethora of sketches that received a score between six and seven. Bridges had eight "good" sketches and only four "bad." Put it this way: if every sketch had been given a score of 6.5, it would be the top rated show of the season. Having said all of that, I still very much liked Saturday's installment. OK, let's get to the poll.
The NRFPTP Relevancy Poll is driven by a proprietary algorithm involving such factors as quality airtime. If your results differ, let's hear about it nicely discuss this in the comments.
Yep, the 36th season of Saturday Night live, so far, belongs to Bill Hader. Again, certainly no complaints about this. Hader is a fine choice to lead the cast as his characters are always funny and avoid the annoyance factor that some of his colleagues' recurring characters possess. I'm curious if we will see Mr. Assange make it four in a row when the show returns next year with Jim Carrey as host. Also, Stefon.
I'm very happy to see Sudeikis bounce back after what appeared to be a few frustrating weeks for him. Of course, the return of "Kickspit" is going to help, but he also had "It's a Wonderful Life," "Jeff'd," Joe Biden and a very touched outlaw to hang his hat on this week.
And, like Hader, Samberg continues his dance with the top of the list. Coming in third with another strong Digital Short and the return, briefly, of his Mark Zuckerberg character.
Last week I mentioned that I thought it was odd that they didn't do a "Miley Cyrus Show," considering the attention the real life Cyrus had received based on the released photos of her taking a hit off of a bong. Well, it came a week too late. Regardless, with this third installment, Bayer has her self a bona fide recurring sketch.
I'll admit, Armisen finally starred in an Obama sketch that was pretty funny. Then again, he didn't have any dialogue. Also, it's fairly sad that this was most likely the last we will ever see Larry King lampooned on SNL. Sure, Norm MacDonald's take was better, but, in the past, Armisen did a pretty serviceable job. (As evidenced in the Conan-Leno sketch from earlier this year.)
Meyers will always be in the top half of this list as long as Stefon makes an appearance on "Update."
Good news for Abby Elliott: Two fairly strong weeks in a row for her. Yes, I hate the Kardashian sketches, but they do get her airtime. And for the purposes of this poll, that's what matters.
His Michael Steele was fine. It's just that the general notion of Steele becoming a Tea Party member based upon is reelection campaign was, as I mentioned yesterday, not the best of concepts. Good supporting roles in sketches like "Jeff'd." I know, they've been done to death, but I was kind of hoping for a holiday blowout "What's Up With That?"
Had a mid-"Kickspit" rap session, and then really wasn't heard from again. Still, it was a good sign that he got a new character on the air last week, he just needs to develop more of them.
Ass Dan! And that's about it. Though, he was funny as a man who knew that he would be shot in the "General Store" sketch.
A couple of bit roles, but Brittain was really no where to be seen. My advise: Just jump on stage during the monologue every week and yell, "Yo, Yo, featured player Paul Brittain in the mother freakin' house!"
I'm not sure what's going on here. Look, I'm not a huge fan of Wiig's more known recurring characters, but I do think that Wiig is very funny. (She's an honest to God scene stealer in movies.) Am I happy that the last few weeks have been Gilly-free? Well, yeah. But I still think there's a great way to utilize Wiig without regulating her to a couple of bit roles.