October 3rd SNL Review — Chris Rock and Megan Thee Stallion
This past Saturday night, on October 3rd, NBC’s iconic sketch show “Saturday Night Live” returned to TV to the most viewers the show has had from it’s premier in four years, with nearly 8 million viewers tuning in. Chris Rock, an SNL favorite and 5 time host was the headliner, with musical guest Megan Thee Stallion, and neither dissappointed.
The cold open, as one could have expected, was a re-enactment of the Joe Biden, Donald Trump presidential debate, with Beck Bennett doing a surprisingly good impression of Chris Wallace, Alec Baldwin doing his trademark Donald Trump, Jim Carrey shining in his new role as Joe Biden, and Maya Rudolph making a surprise appearance in her fan-favorite role as Kamala Harris.
Rock opened the show with a monologue that showcased his signature comedic timing, while interweaving a political commentary. Rock at one point advocated for Congressional Term limits, and even advocated for a complete overhaul of the presidential term, saying that if he had hired a cook who was making people sick, he wouldnt wait until his four year contract were up to fire him.
The show continued with a few sketches that really killed, including one revolving around a super-spreader event at a name-changing station, and a ghost from the future visiting a young gamer. The only real dud in the sketch list came from a sketch about a fake game show where women competed to get to visit stars in the NBA playoff bubble.
Finishing off the show was the iconic Weekend Update Segment, where Collin Jost and Michael Che did not spare any words on Trump’s Coronavirus diagnosis, the fight for the Supreme Court, and even Vin Diesel’s new pop single. This, like almost all Weekend Updates, did not dissappoint.
All in all, this was a strong return to form for SNL, who was given a load of subject matter coming into the season, and took advantage of almost all of it. I can’t think of anyone better to play the leading role in a strong return than the all-time great, Chris Rock.
8/10
