Movieline's Saturday Night Live Midseason Awards
It's almost easy to forget now, but, a year ago today, Kristen Wiig was the dominant force on Saturday Night Live. Today, for whatever reason, that's not the case. (The recent airing of last season's A Very Gilly Christmas notwithstanding.) So, with that in mind, now that we are at the halfway point of Saturday Night Live's season, let's hand out some awards to those cast members who have replaced Wiig at center stage.
(As always, offer your own nominations in the comments.)
Comeback Player of the Year: Bobby Moynihan
Moynihan did not have a great 2009-2010 season. Honestly, considering the small amount of airtime he received last season, I really didn't expect him to be back. I mean, yes, I was rooting for him, but even what looked like what was becoming his signature character (Mark Payne) never made an appearance last season. This season is a different story. Still missing a signature recurring character (we all love Ass Dan, but it's not really his sketch), Moynihan has nevertheless broken though this year from "guy who may or may not get to stand in the background during a sketch," to a legitimate talent that will be a driving force on the show for years to come. Look through the great sketches this season -- "Fockers Fan," "A Message from the TSA," "Kickspit," "Black Friday" -- Moynihan is everywhere. And, honestly, it couldn't happen to a nicer guy. (Hoping that next year this award goes to the very much missed presence of Jason Sudeikis.)
Rookie of the Year: Vanessa Bayer
Yeah, I know, you were probably expecting me to go with Jay Pharoah considering I'm the unofficial president of his Internet fan club. Indeed, Pharoah has shined at times this season ("Unstoppable"!) but his glaring lack of screentime for anything other than impressions can't be ignored. I think Paul Brittain has given me the most laugh-out-loud moments ("Sex Ed") from the season as far as the new players are concerned, but, those moments are too few and far between. Killam is in the same boat: Yes, he's had his moments too (also with "Unstoppable" and a polarizing Brad Pitt impression), but there's only one new player who has a bona fide recurring sketch, and that's Vanessa Bayer.
I am not at all comparing Bayer to Mike Myers, but it took Myers until his second season to get "Wayne's World" on the air. Bayer already has three "Miley Cyrus Shows" under her belt and she's only halfway though her first season. Sure, you could argue she's just doing an impression, too. The difference is that she's not doing walk-ons in other cast members's sketches as Cyrus; all three sketches are based upon the concept of Cyrus hosting her own show. Not to mention, she's a workhorse who's approaching Kristen Wiig for most appearances this season by a female cast member.
Most Valuable Player: Bill Hader
As if this was any surprise. Hader has absolutely flourished this season and has taken the mantle from Wiig as SNL's go-to player. Think back to how odd it seems to have Gilly hosting a Christmas episode. Well, I can think of at least four Hader characters that would fit in nicely in a role like that.
Not to mention, Hader has either claimed the top spot or the second spot in five of the 10 Relevancy Polls from this season. The most notable addition to Hader's recurring characters this season has been, without a doubt, Stefon. Hader unveiled him late last season on "Weekend Update," but it's been this season that solidified Stefon as an "Update" staple. Also a huge benefit for Hader has been the rise of Wikileaks founder Julain Assange. As of this writing, Hader has portrayed Assange on an unheard of -- save for election-year personalities -- three episodes in a row. So far, this season of SNL has belonged to Bill Hader. I know it's just midseason, but it's going to take an awful lot for Hader to not take home the 36th season MVP award come May.
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Comments
Totally agree with this. A lot of fans, including me, are so psyched to see Bobby Moynihan finally promoted to full-time with the screen-time he deserves. And I had completely forgotten about the Gilly Xmas special. Like forgot it was last year, forgot it existed. Hmmm...
Completely agree re: Bayer and Hader, but Moynihan? Meh. I still don't get why he's on. Even his Snooki is annoying. Yuck. Was disappointed with the absence of Wiig's Target Lady this season, too. And Pharaoh is undeniably excellent. But what the hell was with that other guy's Brad Pitt weather report thing? Dohhhhh? Huh??
Moynihan is great -- I'm still impersonating the pepper-obsessed waiter he played in his very first episode.
And I'd much rather see a Christmas special hosted by Hader's Vincent Price than by Wiig's Gilly.
"We all love Ass Dan, but it's not really his sketch."
Oh, but it will be. Mark my words, it will be.
I couldn't agree with you more, Mike. Hader and Moynihan have been the bricks and mortar of this season. Where would the show be without them?
I didn't really want to see Bayer up there, but you are totally right. If only we had 1 or 2 more 'Sex Ed Vincent' sketches, featured player Paul Brittain could be in da house right now!
Half way through this season, it has become obvious that the loss of Will Forte has negatively impacted the show more than any of us really anticipated. This goes double for Fortes former partner in crime, Jason Sudeikis. The best thing he could do at this point is continue to write sketches with Hader, because they seem to have strong chemistry together. Another, option could be for him to take one of the featured players, like Brittain, under his wing. Perhaps the energy and drive of the young Brittain could jumpstart Sudeikis again. Im not saying he can't stand on his own, it just looks like he hasn't even tried this season. God, Im missing Jon Bovi right now.
"...disappointed with the absence of Wiig's Target lady"???
Oh boy.
Undoubtedly, this is the weakest season for SNL in years. Many times you get the feeling that Lorne Michaels has simply lost interest. The one positive, is that the writers have finally realized how the public has tired of Kristin Wiig and her unidimensional character portrayals. The fact that she had been such a weak lead the last couple of years encouraged Michaels to seek out alternative female talent and there is potential here.
I most appreciate Hader and Wiig and to a certain extent Armisen on the cast. It feels like they are the only ones who do new characters anymore and do them well. Like, classic SNL characters. Unique material with a great comedic voice. I'm disappointed SNL has become a big pop culture parody poking at easy targets. The incessant celebrity impressions have become boring and without risk. If all Pharaoh, Elliott, Bayer and Killam can pitch is impressions of irrelevant celebrities then I am scared for the future of the show.
I 100% agree with you on all three. However, I would like to add an honorable mention of Kenan Thompson. His What's Up With That sketches are hilarious. He's great in every sketch he appears in, even those his more populars characters haven't been seen this season or in a while like DJ Dynasty Handbag, Jean K. Jean, Lorenzo McIntosh and Virginiaca Hastings.
I personally think Seth Myers needs to be replaced. I say this because of the general weakness of the show, and the fact that so many of the funny bits by the other players seem to be steered toward the news segment. Myers's news segment is as good as previous versions, but it is clear that somehow he is moving the funny characters to the news in order to make himself look better. Why not take some of that material for sketches? Poor decisions and a sense of self-importance: not good for a person in his position.
I think Moynihan's season is more of a breakout year than a comeback. You're right, he doesn't have a ton of recurring characters, but he's in a ton of stuff. And I do think we'll see more from Ass Dan, like we did in that awesome music video Ass Dan and Ryan Phillippe did last season, outside of the Kickspit rhelm.
For me, the factor that gives Bayer the edge over Pharoah (who is so brilliant at impressions that I don't need to see him do original characters to think him essential) is her ability to mine tons of laughter from her awkward/vapid stare. Bayer blurting out "El Shrinkooo." while eating a potato chip is one of the highlights of this season. And her performance in the the bar mitzvah sketch was the piece's only saving grace, more than making up for everything in the piece that fell flat. Biggest missed opportunity of the season: Jesse Eisenberg should have done a scene with Vanessea Bayer playing Michael Cera.