Libba Smith
A&E Editor
The Kristen Wigg and Andy Samberg era at “Saturday Night Live” has drawn to a close. Wiig’s complete domination of the show, with popular characters including the neurotic Target Lady, the mischievous Gilly and the excitable Sue, abruptly ended at the end of last season when she hung up her wigs. Samberg has moved on as well, taking with him the Digital Shorts that have forever changed the meaning of a “Lazy Sunday.”
However, SNL has added three new featured players to pick up the slack: Aidy Bryant, Tim Robinson and Cecily Strong, who performed at Wooster last fall with The Second City Tour Company. Other talented cast members, like the phenomenal Taran Killam and Nasim Pedrad, will now get more much-deserved airtime.
Season 38 of “Saturday Night Live” began on the 15th, with host Seth MacFarlane and musical guest Frank Ocean. Election years hit SNL’s sweet spot, as anyone who saw Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin parody can attest to; unfortunately, the political landscape this year is just not as explosive as it was during the election of 2008. The show opened with the highly anticipated premiere of Jay Pharoah’s impression of President Barack Obama, replacing Fred Armisen’s rendition. Obama is a difficult role for any impersonator because he lacks strong physical or verbal ticks to mock, short of his memorable voice. Pharoah did an admirable job of capitalizing on Obama’s distinguishable style, like his penchant for long pauses, but even those moments sometimes fell flat. Overall, however, the sketch did its job of establishing Pharoah as the new Obama, giving the audience time to familiarize itself with his rendition before the debate season.
In contrast, Jason Sudeikis’s impression of Mitt Romney made the Republican candidate into an out-of-touch moron. To be fair, though, Romney’s many gaffes and blunders have made it easy for the SNL writers, and virtually any parody of him would be funny.
MacFarlane, best known for his work on animated shows like “Family Guy” and the summer’s hit film “Ted,” was a pleasant surprise as host. He was completely at ease in every sketch, and while he relied a little too heavily on his signature voices, his range and acting ability were a natural fit for the show.
The best sketch of the night was, without a doubt, “Puppet Class.” MacFarlane played a puppeteer giving beginners lessons to a terse Grenada war veteran portrayed by Bill Hader. Never have the fictional horrors of war been brought to life so viscerally, especially in the hands of a shaking, smoking puppet. Bill Hader was also spot-on with his impression of Clint Eastwood in “Eastwood and Chair.” In the commercial, Eastwood emabarks on a traveling comedy show in which he improvises with an empty chair for an hour, mocking his speech at the Republican National Convention. Other highlights included MacFarlane’s impression of Ryan Lochte during Weekend Update (which drew fire from Lochte himself) and “Lids,” a “Gangnam Style” parody that included a cameo from Korean pop star Psy.
On a stage filled with vintage arcade games, Frank Ocean had the audience swooning with his performances of “Thinkin Bout You” and “Pyramids.” While Ocean may not be known to SNL’s more mainstream audience, he is steadily making a name for himself in the music industry. He has held guest spots on tracks by Kanye West, Jay-Z and Drake and released his critically acclaimed album “channel ORANGE.” The oddest part of his performance was John Mayer lurking in the background of “Thinkin Bout You” and then delivering an extended guitar solo at the end of “Pyramids” while Ocean played video games. But even Mayer’s presence did not detract from Ocean’s powerful delivery.
SNL’s 38th year is off to a great start, with a strong cast and plenty of material to parody with the upcoming election. Hopefully the show can continue its momentum into an equally memorable season.