Posted in: NBC, Peacock, Review, TV | Tagged: Foo Fighters, nate bargatze, nbc, Review, saturday night live, season 49, snl

SNL: Nate Bargatze, Foo Fighters Set Season 49 Back on Track: Review

Saturday Night Live host Nate Bargatze, musical guest Foo Fighters, and the SNL team got Season 49 back on track just in time for Halloween.

Take a first-time host with experience doing stand-up comedy who respects the writing process and is willing to give himself over to the process. Add a hall-of-fame rock band with a 30-year history with the long-running late-night sketch comedy/music series into the mix, Then sprinkle into that cauldron (it's Halloween, people – work with me) all the expectations that come from a Halloween weekend. The result? An excellent episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live, with host Nate Bargatze, musical guest Foo Fighters, and the SNL team offering up more laughs this weekend than in the past two weekends combined. Though, to be fair? Pete Davidson and Ice Spice did a fine job kicking off the season – it's just that we never laughed at anything during Bad Bunny's run.

Overall (minus the cold open, which we'll get into in a minute), the show wasn't a rollercoaster of "greatness" and then "Ummm…?" sketches – it was a steady flow of live & filmed treats that kept us smiling for close to the show's ninety minutes. As for what worked, what didn't work, and some random thoughts that popped up along the way, here's a deep dive into this weekend's episode:

What Didn't Work? "Biden Halloween Cold Open" was the rare cold open that left me worried about the rest of the show – mainly because I believe in the opener setting the tone for what's to come. Thankfully, my theory was wrong this week. Mikey Day's President Joe Biden has potential but leaned way too hard on the "Biden is old" schtick to the point where it felt less like they were twisting the satirical knife on the POTUS and more like it was taking shots at some dude for getting old. Also, while it's never a bad thing when Christopher Walken appears, it felt like another one of those "Who can we surprise you with this week?" moments that felt like a last-minute add-on. But Michael Longfellow's Mike Johnson (with Devon Walker as his son, Michael) was a silver lining for the sketch, bringing attention to an interesting aspect of the new House Speaker's biography that deserves more attention.

What Did Work? A whole lot, actually. Bargatze's stand-up style was a perfect counter to the energies from the previous opening monologues this season, serving up a monologue that put his comedic strengths on display. That continued with "Washington's Dream," a stinging look at the absurdities behind the decisions the U.S.'s founding fathers made in crafting the country. Sarah Sherman was excellence personified once again this week, whether it was taking on SAG-AFTRA/AMPTP in "Trick-or-Treat with Fran Drescher" or finding new ways to torture "Weekend Update" anchor Colin Jost (this time, as Jost's "agent," J.J. Gordon). "Airplane" was a fun group effort (Bargatze, Day, Walker, Dave Grohl, Heidi Gardner, Chloe Fineman, Andrew Dismukes, Bowen Yang, Chloe Troast) showing how egos can get the best of even an emergency situation – even when it's happening 30,000 feet in the air. Please Don't Destroy (Ben Marshall, John Higgins & Martin Herlihy) went wonderfully absurd with "Dawg Food," while Jost and co-anchor Michael Che continued making "Weekend Update" the go-to moment in the show for wonderfully brutal laughs.

"Hallmark Horror": Bargatze and Fineman star in a trailer for a "horror rom-com that brings together the best of those Hallmark and Lifetime films and runs them through a Shudder blender. Also, bonus points to Punkie Johnson in this and other sketches because Johnson is the best at representing the "reality check" in a situation.

"Chef Show": Bargatze and Ego Nwodim are cooks who face off on a cooking show to see who can cook the best soul food – while Johnson & Kenan Thompson are the judges. And once the "big reveal" flips the situation for the judges, Johnson & Thompson pretty much take over the sketch, tag-teaming their reactions in ways that never let up (with Bargatze portraying his chef's growing shame at his success in an effectively understated way). Bonus points to Thompson for what appeared to be a little improv on his part (based on the reaction from Gardner, playing the show's host) when he pushed the plate onto the floor.

"Lake Beach": Bargatze, Andrew Dismukes, and James Austin Johnson are the country music trio Mudpuddle, and they have a song to share with you about the joys of spending your summers down by the lake. Once again, SNL proves that music video sketches work when you build a reality around the joke. That's a fancy way of saying that I could see Mudpuddle being a real band. And while we didn't live that "lake life" growing up, the song drops references that anyone who grew up with July 4th celebrations, family reunions, community picnics, and things like that can appreciate.

And here's a look at our musical guests doing what they do so well – with some serious support from H.E.R. And on a side note? Major lifetime bonus points go to Grohl for his willingness to always go above and beyond when it comes to SNL – with "Lake Beach" and "Airplane" offering him some fine non-music-related moments to shine:

Saturday Night Live Season 49 Episode 3: Nate Bargatze/Foo Fighters

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Review by Ray Flook

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8.5/10

Take a first-time host with experience doing stand-up comedy who respects the writing process and is willing to give himself over to the process. Add a hall-of-fame rock band with a 30-year history with the long-running late-night sketch comedy/music series into the mix, Then sprinkle into that cauldron (it's Halloween, people - work with me) all the expectations that come from a Halloween weekend. The result? An excellent episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live, with host Nate Bargatze, musical guest Foo Fighters, and the SNL team offering up more laughs this weekend than in the past two weekends combined. Though, to be fair? Pete Davidson and Ice Spice did a fine job kicking off the season - it's just that we never laughed at anything during Bad Bunny's run. Overall (minus the cold open, which we'll get into in a minute), the show wasn't a rollercoaster of "greatness" and then "Ummm...?" sketches - it was a steady flow of live & filmed treats that kept us smiling for close to the show's ninety minutes. As for what worked, what didn't work, and some random thoughts that popped up along the way, here's a deep dive into this weekend's episode:

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