SNL Scorecard: Bill Burr / Jack White

Last night capped off the second week back in Studio 8H for the Saturday Night Live company, and in this wildly abnormal year, it feels so far as if everyone-- and I mean everyone; writers, cast, production, etc. -- is re-learning how to do this. I don't mean that in a dismissive way at all. It makes total sense that having to abruptly stop production, shelter in place, churn out three wildly different entirely-virtual shows a month later, then after getting adjusted to the new normal, come back to 30 Rockefeller Center and restart the show as everyone knows it while still attempting to adhere to health and safety precautions would not be the easiest mental and physical process to undergo.

As understandable a phenomenon as that might be, and as sympathetic as I am to the fact that much of the cast might just be having trouble finding too many things funny these days, the end result for the viewer is unfortunately not the best. This was yet another show where timing and/or cue card errors threw off sketches' momentum, and by and large, the show had a weird energy throughout. The good news is, there was a noticeable uptick in quality from last week and the mistakes were far lesser, so if my theory holds that this is all a gradual re-learning process, we really could be poised for some great shows later this month. Furthermore, for the second straight week, an electric musical guest instilled some energy and must-see television into the episode. No pressure, Justin Bieber.

Here's the sketch-by-sketch breakdown of the 2nd episode of the season:

Sketch of the Night

“Sam Adams Ad”: 7.5/10

A callback to the legendary Dunkin' Donuts sketch with Casey Affleck, this was the only bit of the night that I enjoyed start to finish. Nobody parodies Boston better than SNL does, and it's nice when their Boston-based hosts are happy to take part.

The Good

“Weekend Update": 9/10

You know when I highlight two different Update videos that it was a good week for them. My goodness, this was the best Weekend Update in some time. I have my personal rule that WU can't be the sketch of the night, but I was seriously tempted to do so this time. Che and Jost came out of the gates with hard-hitting, edgy commentary (even prompting a comment from the former that "this is a dark show"), and didn't look back, pulling out hit after hit of hilarious one-liners. Then the guest appearances came on and somehow only made it better. Kate McKinnon's "Dr. Wenowdis" was already enjoyable, reminiscent of an old Gilda Radner character or something, and her breaking the fourth wall only added to the comedy. And to wrap it up, while I was concerned Pete Davidson's first Update appearance of the season might kill the segment's momentum, he instead hit us with one of his best mini-sets in quite some time. (Most importantly of all, and perhaps relatedly, he's looking healthy!) Great, great night for all involved.

“New Normal": 6.5/10

This was a bit of a weird sketch to lead off with. Actually, it kind of was just...weird. But it felt like a fun mix of two prior Will Ferrell sketches and though it didn’t come off quite as cleanly as either one of those, it was still enjoyable. I'm a sucker for this kind of humor, the 'exaggerated freakout over something small.'

"Don Pauly": 6/10

It was short on laugh-out-loud moments, but this was a solid sketch, and it's always enjoyable to see a new cast member get some decent screen time the way Punkie Johnson did in this one. The audience seemed a little timid with this one (perhaps there was some apprehension about the sketch's direction given the tone of the host all night), and that unfortunately lessened the impact of the humor a little bit.

“Sports Debate": 6/10

This was frustrating, because it was such a great premise for what could have been a dark and hilarious sketch but due to some seemingly flubbed lines or bizarre timing mishaps, didn't end up quite that way. Still one of the better skits on a somewhat forgettable night, but it feels like a potential classic that was wasted.

“Monologue": 6/10

One thing I was confident about was that this monologue would get people talking, and that has proven to be true. I've seen this set by Burr, a comedian with a known disdain for political correctness, talked about, texted about, and tweeted about all day. Unsurprisingly, the reactions have either been "We need more of THIS!" or "This was shocking and offensive!" I promise I'm not trying to be a contrarian, but I just didn't feel either of those strong emotions about it. I liked it more than I disliked it, but I didn't find it an instant classic the way many are heralding it. Most standup bits like this, that are intentionally edgy (which, should be noted, seems to be a largely white male trend) either pull off a brilliant set or crash and burn ingloriously. This was weirdly neither; some points, such as those about white feminism and Black History Month were really funny, but the paths to get to the punchline, as well as the mini-bit about cancelling dead people, were a bit clunky. All in all, I experienced equal doses of hard laughs and cringes, which, honestly, may be what Bill Burr was hoping for.

The...Less-Good

“VP Debate Fly Cold Open”: 5/10

Maybe this article should be titled "Daniel Throws A Wet Blanket On The Two Buzziest Sketches Of The Night." And yes, the fly pun was intentional. But again, despite this one's instant social media popularity, I felt thoroughly "meh" about it. It didn't have to be that way- maybe it was just hopeful optimism for improvement after last week’s incredibly disappointing debate sketch but I genuinely was enjoying this one in the first half. Maya Rudolph’s Kamala is too perfect, and though Pete Buttigieg’s Pence impression is probably better than Beck Bennett's, Beck’s character acting is infuriatingly good. That said, this was the 2nd-straight election in which SNL's VP Debate sketch got derailed by the decision to cater to a celebrity guest. Last time out, we got mere seconds into their mock VP Debate before they cut to Alec Baldwin's Trump. This year, right when the sketch was gaining serious team, they made the bizarre move to try to loop in Jim Carrey's Biden-- which, just two episodes in, already feels tiresome --via "teleportation." This resulted in a joke played out FAR too long wherein he was the fly on Pence's head, he was also Jeff Goldblum, and the deceased Herman Cain was also a fly on Pence's head. Confused? Same. It just felt like this was just trying to fit in as many Twitter buzzy moments as possible without having a way to comedically cohesively weave them together.

“Enough Is Enough": 5/10

In yet another instance of two previous sketches giving way to this new iteration, Bennett's well-intentioned- but-horribly-oblivious character was a welcome return. Unfortunately, though, despite a promising start, this sketch never really went anywhere. I actually find that sort of character's interplay with other people more funny than just seeing his reaction to their reaction.

Musical Performances

Jack White: 9.5/10

After country artist Morgan Wallen got his SNL appearance yanked due to breach of coronavirus protocol, Jack White filled in at the 11th hour. And with all due respect to Wallen (well actually, only a little respect...you brought this on yourself, bro), what a great upgrade that proved to be.

The legendary rocker opened with a short clip of his featured part in Beyoncé's "Don't Hurt Yourself" before segueing into a medley of his own song "Ball and Biscuit" and then a cover of Oak Ridge Boys' "Jesus Is Coming Soon," with lyrics slightly altered to fit the specific pandemic moment. At the end of the show, he delivered a positively blistering performance of his 2014 thumper "Lazaretto." And he rocked out his entire set while using a guitar gifted to him by Eddie Van Halen, a tribute to the recently-deceased music legend. It might just be two episodes in, but it's going to be pretty damn hard for any musical guest to top this appearance.

OVERALL SCORE: 6.72 ('Comedy Only' score: 6.38)