After being punted five months ago by the strike, former cast member Pete Davidson returned to Saturday Night Live in Ice Spice. The show was uneven, but still managed to generate some big laughs, not to mention cameos from Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce and John Muianey.

After a long break, you never know what to expect. We certainly didn't expect Saturday Night Live or the host Pete Davidson. We didn't anticipate Travis Kelly or Taylor Swift.

Pete's cold opening was serious, and he addressed the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East as well as the violence. He referred to his own tragedy, which ties him in with those who have suffered from terrorism.

Pete's job was to transition from the horrors of today to the healing powers of comedy. He promised to do so tonight, just as Mayor Rudolph Giuliani had done after the 9/11 attacks. He also had several surprise guests on his show, including John Mullaney.

It's still a mystery how the show managed to attract the hottest couple of the moment, Travis and Taylor. The media is already focusing on the news that will dominate.

It's possible that this could be a blessing for the show. The show was in a very mixed state of health when it returned after a five-month break due to the Hollywood writer's strike. After a five-month hiatus due to the Hollywood writers strike, the show returned in a very mixed state. This was a hit-or miss show with more hits than misses.

SNL welcomed a new cast member, Chloe Trout. However, as is the case with newcomers in general, she had very little work. She got some lines on her first show and delivered them much better than Pete did in his eighth year. He's better tonight, but just a little.

There is one sketch in this show that could be a classic. The comedy was great on "Weekend Update". They probably meant it backwards. The episode improves as it progresses, with the best and most edgy material being backloaded.

We rank all sketches in order of worst to best, including Monologues, Cold Opens, "Weekend Updates" and any other sketches that had to be cut due time constraints but were posted online. We won't include musical guests because they aren't usually funny - unless Ashlee shows up. The final segment of the show will be a look back at the member of the cast who had the best week.

Cold Open: Terrorist attacks [not rankedable]

After five months, SNL paused before the comedy -- just as they had done in the episode that aired after the 9/11 attacks - to make a sobering comment about the atrocities and horrors happening outside Studio 8H. Pete Dadivson was the only person on stage, speaking soberly. He said that he knew some people might find it strange that he was the one delivering this serious commentary. But he reminded them, "When i was seven, my father was killed in an attack by terrorists." After seeing the photos of the children suffering in the Middle East conflict, he said "it took me back to an awful place." He promised to "try" and use comedy to escape the horrors. It was a simple, direct -- and yes, unexpected -- moment that had a real impact.

Fox NFL Swiftday

The cameo was well used, but perhaps the audience was a bit too excited. It was only fitting that the NFL commentators switched from discussing the big game straight to talking about the romance. Mikey Day, who played Howie Long as a Swiftie, was the only one to really get into character. Pete was hilarious as a sideline reporter too -- the audience laughed prematurely at his outfit even before we saw it -- but the final cameo from Travis was what really made the conversation. Swifties will be looking everywhere for her. She was also present to introduce Ice Spice's 2nd performance.

@taylorswift13 @icespicee_#SNLPremiere pic.twitter.com/0gXEcvWQDS

Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl), October 15, 2023

Wired Autocomplete Interview

This was a one-note sketch where fake celebrities read off Google autofill answers that and Wired do occasionally. But this one focused on Pete's character getting diarrhea while flying with Delta. That's it. The joke is over. Pete was a good dweeb, a little nebbish, who was incensed at the fact that this was the only question he was asked. But the overall pace of the sketch seemed odd. Why was Ego Nwodim only allowed to ask one question? It was a good attempt to maintain realism in the story, but we felt it took us out of the fictional world a little. It would have been more funny if these were parodies of real celebrities rather than these stereotypes which never felt fully developed, even when in the background.

Monologue: Pete Davidson

Pete scored an 11 out of 10 right away. It was almost as if he was compensating for the earlier, more serious segment. The audience was not used to this level. The Game of Thrones parts about his sister watching the incest didn't work. But when he switched to Staten Island, and told his "origin" story, it worked much better. The audience seemed more engaged with his story and he relaxed a little more.

The Secretary

Heidi Gardner, a vintage secretary ready to "anticipate", rather than "react", to the needs of her boss was the star of this sketch. Pete did not have the same character development as Heidi or Bowen Yang, his assistant. Kenan Thompson and James Austin Johnson in the interstitial scene seemed to be completely unnecessary, except to demonstrate that her apparently competent secretary was winging it. The final pratfall made up for a lot of previous nonsense. While we liked Heidi's performance and her commitment to the sketch in general, the rest of the cast didn't seem to match her. The whole thing felt disjointed.

USS Asperon

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The ending almost ruined the whole sketch. It was mildly entertaining thanks to Bowen Yang's work, who carried the lion’s share of... well, everything. Michael Longfellow messed up one of his first lines and Heidi Gardner was once again a delight to watch as she committed to her character, in this case, an android. But the real laughs came from Bowen, who played Marley, an ex-worker, crashing a starship's bridge to engage with an enemy. The whole thing was bizarre but also very humanized. The nonsensical end was a terrible addition, and this is yet another SNL skit that they couldn't get out of.

Beach Day

Pete's performance was his best of the evening after he had hammed up his opening lines. Andrew Dismukes played the man buried in sand perfectly, who was selfish when Pete lost his grandmother's farm due to a tornado. Andrew was the only one who played a major role. Pete and Andrew were able to connect because Andrew wanted to take a photo of himself in the sand. The funny visual was him trying to be genuine with only his head sticking out. And then he wanted to make sure that it was still about him after the devastating news. It was the way an SNL skit should be. But it was at the end.

I'm Just Pete

Pete, riffing on Barbie’s Ken took self-deprecation a step further by taking apart every truth, story and stereotype about him, from his dating, rehab, his bipolar disorder, his "butthole eye" and the way he creates headlines for except his humor. Devon Walker got a good laugh when he discovered he was "Black Pete." The non-shoutout to Kanye was also a great touch. Pete's entire tenure on the show was spent making fun of his public persona and himself. This felt like a perfect way to keep fans updated with his latest news, and remind everyone that he is still making Super Bowl ads and headlines even if his last show bombed.

Roadhouse Bar

This silly sketch about figures and feet (or fingers) didn't require the corporate comedy tag. This 10-to-1 sketch, which Pete broke in, was his first break of the evening. It also had a line, that would have broken even stronger performers. Kenan was broken after breaking. Andrew Dismukes stayed in character, however, throughout. He was born to play this role, a nonsensical idiot who says stupid things confidently and with gravitas. The fun part was that we had no idea what was going to happen from one moment to the next. Kenan's reactions at some of the dumb things that were said in the sketch was also half the fun. This was, overall, one of the funniest sketches that night, except for the ending. The cast may have been warming up for five months after the show's hiatus by saving their best material until the end.

Please Don't destroy: Original Princes of Comedy

The first real laughs of this night were in the clip of Pete and the PDD boys talking about their respective teen careers. It turns out that they were the "Original Princes of Comedy" when they pre-teens performed at the Apollo. Their three younger counterparts were perfectly cast and delivered some genuinely funny, kid-raunchy humor. It felt like the first fully-ready sketch, even with a bad set for John Mulaney at the same location and perfect pacing. We wondered if the rest of this episode was not filmed or written in May, when Pete had originally been scheduled to host the show before the strike.

Glamgina

This fake ad is a good example of why the episode was pushed to the end. It was hilarious and edgy at the same time. The cast members all rushed into Dr. Pete's exam to tout the benefits of the product, which could be makeup, plumping, or even a hairstyle. Sarah Sherman, who is in her element here as a performer, delivered the dramatic commercial lines, which helped sell the earnest silliness. Kenan's punctuation as the janitor at the end with a quick query was the only thing that could have made it better. His sudden arrival was both creepy and charming.

Weekend Update

Michael Che was the one who finally got the audience to groan when he said that Jada and Will Smith had been separated since 2016, and tied it back to their infamous slap. The boys' previous jokes about politicians like George Santos and Bob Menendez were not as well known to modern audiences. Colin Jost's jokes were also on-point, and he was able to bring up the absurd story of the banned book about a children's book that was challenged because its author's name literally spelled "Gay", even though it went into a dark, twisted place.

Bowen Yang was brilliant in his portrayal of Christopher Columbus. He took on all the problematic aspects of the man who "discovered America". He discovered a lot of things including "Marco Che" himself and Ice Spice. Che would only admit that he may have discovered gentrification. This was a clever way to show all the reasons Columbus has been a controversial hero in America, without absolving him of any responsibility. Yang's over-the top Italian accent and his overall character had us laughing the entire way through.

Jada pinkett Smith addresses Will Smith gay rumors and says she didn't see the Oscars slap happen

Michael Che, after Colin had a good joke to tell at Russell Brand's expense and he was able to get off one, set up a segment about California's "ebony warnings" for Black kids, making it look like a guest segment. He said, "Here is more of that with Colin Jost," as the camera cut away to Jost. Jost was clearly unprepared at this point and laughed at the ridiculousness of the choice. "Why?" He lamented. It's the first episode." Che then encouraged him to read the joke, which confirmed that this was a throwback from when they would end seasons by writing jokes to be read on air. Knowing the entire setup and circumstance, we found it both hilarious and awful. It would be great if they did this every week. The guys started to hit hard with one after another.

Kenan Thompson played Deion Sands after Colorado's stunning comeback loss to Stanford, despite leading 29-0 in the first half. Kenan Thompson was hilarious in his blowhard, confident ignorance after the team's huge moment of fame. Even funnier were his little jabs against Colin for his Black jokes in the past (when Che had set him up), and his persona of a Harvard White Boy. When he cut from a shot of Sanders performing on SNL, we almost fell off our chairs. We appreciated that Sinead o'Connor was praised as being a better musical guest than Sanders, considering the years she endured after her controversial appearance criticizing the Catholic Church.

PLAYER OF WEEK

Thank you Pete Davidson and to @icespicee_ @heisrema @taylorswift13 @tkelce Goodnight! #SNLPremiere pic.twitter.com/5xEbknFiHc

Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl), October 15, 2023

It was a tough return after such a long break. Pete Davidson, who has been a member of the cast for many years, was always going be an iffy leader. He was inconsistent and iffy in his performances. He did the same thing here that he had done in previous years, so we should not have expected anything more.

Chloe Troast, the only newcomer of the season, made her debut this week. She was given very little work, but she managed to appear two times and deliver her lines more confidently than many of the newcomers from last season (except Michael Longfellow). We haven't seen any indication of her comic personality yet, but will be watching.

The cast did a good job of balancing the show, but there was no doubt who put their mark on the episode. Andrew Dismukes and Heidi Gardner seemed to have the most committed performances. Mikey Day, Kenan Thompson, and Bowen Yang were next.

Heidi and Bowen were the two who made us laugh most. Bowen gets the nod for being able to bring the laughs with two characters that are fully realized (Christopher Columbus, and Marley), whereas Heidi was only able to shine as the Secretary. She was great opposite Bowen’s Marley but her role was small, and she played it straight.

They have both been strong performers on the show for the entire time they have been there. After the exodus of veterans a few seasons ago, these two have risen to the top as sketch leaders. This is already going to be an exciting year for them both (if Bowen hasn't already broken through).

The "Saturday Night Live", with Bad Bunny as host and musical guest, returns to the airwaves next week.

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Title: Pete Davidson SNL Sketches Ranked: Taylor and Travis and ... John Mulaney? Oh My!
Sourced From: www.toofab.com/2023/10/14/saturday-night-live-premiere-recap-pete-davidson-sketches-taylor-swift-travis-kelce-john-mulaney/
Published Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2023 07:30:47 +0000

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