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SNL Scorecard: Seth Meyers/Paul Simon


Seth Meyers was an interesting, albeit much-anticipated host for Saturday Night Live. It makes sense; he's carved out quite a niche audience with his Late Night show, and is quickly becoming one of the more familiar recent SNL alumni, along with Poehler, Wiig, Hader, Samberg and Armisen (holy crap, the mid-2000s were legendary). But at the same time, he was never a great fit for sketch comedy. He rose to prominence thanks to his writing and his spot behind the Weekend Update desk, a fact that suits his new gig quite nicely.

To be fair, Meyers pre-empted all this with his monologue, joking about how he was equally terrified to be on stage Saturday night as he was all his career. But as the night progressed, it was pretty clear he was going to keep being utilized in the straight-man role he played so expertly during his time in the show, rather than the varied eccentric characters we saw the hosts play in the first two episodes. It might have displayed his limitations, but it was also pulled off successfully: much like its host, Saturday's episode was understated but consistently solid, sneakily the best of the young season.

Here's the sketch-by-sketch breakdown of the 3rd episode of the season:

Sketch of the Night

“A Frightening Tale”: 7.5/10

This became my Sketch of the Night because of a last-minute change of heart. As you'll see below, I had plenty that I felt were right around the same level of funny, and I didn't want to defer to another pre-taped skit. After all, the point is that it's Saturday Night Live (he says, pointedly gesticulating and pretentiously sipping free-range chai). But if I'm being honest, in terms of the totally scientific laughs-per-minute ratio, this was a clear winner. Also Meyers' best acting of the night.

The Good

“Movie Talkback": 7/10

‘“Kanye West Donald Trump Cold Open": 7/10

It's the return of Alec Baldwin's Trump, which...kind of sucks, to be honest. I know I'm not alone in thinking his bit has worn thin, especially now in the wake of his tone-deaf proclamation. I thought they might touch on Baldwin's "black people" comment, and they did, though not with any sense of self-pity. Fortunately, this bit was buoyed by Kenan's increasingly dismayed Jim Brown and Chris Redd's outstanding/hysterical Kanye. I was hoping they would have 'gone inside' Kanye's brain as well, to reflect Trump's craziness, too. I think it would have been funny and poignant, but maybe I'm just not ready to accept that the most important hip-hop artist of the 21st century might actually be more unhinged than the President.

“Trees": 7/10

A well-meaning Chris Redd and Pete Davidson drop an educational rap on global warming. Well to be fair, the latter thought different "trees" were being discussed, so he had to pivot to an Al Gore ode, with much aplomb.

“Cuban Vacation": 6.5/10

Hilariously accurate. And I now know how my family feels every time anyone mentions anywhere in Europe only to elicit a response of "AH! When I was in BUDAPEST, HUNGARY..." from myself. I'm pretty sure this joke was actually a bit from Seth Meyers' standup routine. I've never seen him live, but I feel like I had a friend who at one point saw him live and conveyed a similar joke to me some time. Concrete evidence, I know.

“Monologue": 6.5/10

As mentioned above, Meyers' monologue was clever in addressing his SNL reputation right off the bat. He also regaled the audience with a Kanye anecdote. Not the most memorable monologue, but funny and effective enough.

“Traffic Stop": 6/10

New cast member Ego Nwodim got her first big role, and it was alongside Leslie Jones as two sexually aggressive cops. Nothing too groundbreaking in terms of the humor here, but pretty enjoyable, as Nwodim and Jones sell the energy well.

“Bayou Benny's Liberal Langniappe": 5.5/10

This certainly wins the Bizarro award for Season 44 thus far. Although, between "Maine Justice" and the Cajun Chicken sketch with Andrew Garfield, SNL has dipped into the Bayou well for humor before in recent years. Anyways, thanks in no small part to Beck Bennett's absolute commitment to Bayou Benny, and Seth Meyers' constant bemusement, this skit had me rolling at times. Unfortunately, it seemed to be just a little too weird (or perhaps indistinguishable) for the live audience, which hurt its energy a bit.

The…Less-Good

“Weekend Update": 5/10

Weekend Update lost their mojo from last week a little bit, it seemed. The jokes weren't as sharp, nor the guest appearances as memorable. You knew they would bring out Seth for at least part of it, and I was elated to see the return of the "Really?!" segment. But, funny as it was, it mostly served as a reminder of how consistently great Seth was behind the desk, and how we are yet to see that consistency from any team since.

“Beta Force”: 5/10

A fairly humorous concept, but not much to write home about. Other than BALD SETH MEYERS.

“Halloween Gig”: 4.5/10

I'm actually totally a sucker for these skits. They did a particularly memorable one with Ryan Gosling last season. It's usually an ideal 10-to-1 sketch, but-- perhaps because of how little time they had -- this one felt a little rushed, before it really got a chance to develop into its usual peak weirdness.

“Jail Cellmate”: 4.5/10

This, too, was not without its comical moments. But even Kenan, who was clearly relishing the chance to play Bill Cosby again, couldn't rescue the sketch from fairly lackluster writing.

Musical Performances

Paul Simon: 7/10

Talk about a tonal shift from the last two musical guests. From Kanye West to Travis Scott to... Paul Simon? Simon does of course have a longstanding legacy at SNL, performing multiple times over the decades, most memorably in the first show after 9/11. It was great to see the icon back on the stage, and really sounding quite good! He can't hit all the notes as effortlessly as in years past, but he's still got such a recognizable voice.

I wasn't familiar with first song "Can't Run But," but true to Simon & Garfunkel form, it had a very unique folk sound. Nothing, though, tops seeing a rendition of "Bridge Over Troubled Water." The moment where the audience realized that was the song being performed gave me goosebumps.

OVERALL SCORE: 6.08 (Comedy Only score: 6.0)

Heading into the first long layoff, here are the standings for Season 44:

1. Seth Meyers/Paul Simon - 6.08

2. Awkwafina/Travis Scott - 5.92

3. Adam Driver/Kanye West - 5.55

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