Recapping Television's Hottest Shows with Monkeys as Critics

Recap: 'Saturday Night Live' – Justin Bieber

Does the teen pop heartthrob have what it takes to host 'SNL'?

By Ryan McGee Saturday, Feb 9, 2013 11:00 PM

Justin Bieber and Kenan Thompson on 'Saturday Night Live'

Credit: NBC

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This is going to be terrible. Unless it’s awesome. Then again, it could be mediocre.

Look, there’s an intense amount of hype about tonight’s Justin Bieber-hosted “Saturday Night Live”. But predicting the overall quality based on any host is a fool’s game. We’ve seen sure-fire selections fizzle under the lights of live television, and those that seemed destined for failure rise up and exceed expectations. The metrics that went into select Bieber himself may be suspect (come on, this is about ratings above all else), but there’s no reason to think this will be any better or worse than anything else we’ve seen thus far this season.

Indications that Bieber will or will not be a good host should be evident early on. Does the show bust out a host of other celebrities to surround/protect him? Will Bieber play himself in the majority of the sketches? Will he be OK with putting his carefully calibrated image upon the comedic chopping block? Ultimately, this isn’t really about Bieber being a good host so much as a game one. So long as he’s one or the other, it’s a success for him. The success for “SNL” will be putting forth its first good episode of 2013. That somewhat rests of Bieber’s shoulders, but more on the strength of the sketches themselves.

Now that I’m back in Boston (under two and a half feet of snow), it’s time to once again live-blog these proceedings. Join me starting at 11:30 pm EST, where I’ll be grading the sketches as they happen in real time. Feel free to scream at me in the comment section not unlike a Belieber might, though without all that “love” and more with the “I can’t understand why you’re allowed to write about ‘SNL’ when you don’t agree with me on the quality of each segment”. We good? Good.

Super Bowl Blackout: Oh right, THIS happened. Doesn’t it feel like years ago? In any case, let’s all remember how absolutely no one associated with CBS Sports had any idea how to improvise under the less-than-ideal circumstances. Still, Jay Pharaoh’s Shannon Sharpe is something I could watch for an hour, so I’m OK with this approach to the debacle. We learn that James Brown wants to watch “2 Broke Girls” right now, which makes exactly one of us! By the end, the announcers start losing their minds and admitting things. (“Ray Lewis knows who killed those people, because it was him!”) A little more of the manic energy from the final sixty seconds would have made this a classic. As it stands, at least it ended strongly. [Grade: B]

Monologue: OH MY GOD HE’S SO PRETTY! (Sorry, had to get that out my system.) Eight seconds into his monologue, the music kicks in. And my oh my, there are screamers in the house. This might be painful over the long haul. He wants to seduce girls in the crowd, but also educate them about…Black History Month? Sure, why not? Too bad he doesn’t have all his facts straight. (“Did you know Denzel Washington invented the peanut?”) He’s awkward as hell, but at least he’s not afraid material that makes him look dumb. So points to him for that. Eventually, he makes Whoopi Goldberg his Valentine. One guest star down. How many left to go? [Grade: B-]

The Californians: Oh sweet heavenly God, why hast thou foresaketh me? The ship has sailed on this sketch, "SNL". It sailed before Gandalf left with Frodo and Bilbo to the Grey Heavens. Take it out back and put a bullet through its thick skull. Sadly, the cast/crew of “SNL” hasn’t gotten the message, and so we’re constantly subjected to this comedic torture device. What can I say about this sketch that I haven’t venomously delivered before? I’m glad these people enjoy looking at themselves, since I can’t stand to watch myself. On the plus side, this sketch is approximately 45 minutes long, so I have time to nap before the next sketch. I'm tempted to think the show knows how loathed this sketch is, and it doing some kind of performance art by airing this as some weird form of protest. [Grade: D-]

Justin Bieber At Madison Square Garden: Psst, Justin: you have to use your outside voice. I can barely hear you. But hey, Jason Sudeikis is now my personal hero for saying, “Well, neither are you, homey” when Bieber complains that the black Bieber decoy hired to help protect his identity won’t fool anyone. I can’t believe that actually just happened. I’m giddy. There’s an interesting tension here, with the crowd firmly pro-Bieber and the sketch mercilessly skewering him. Rather than hammering one joke into the ground, the sketch then devolves into a weird bit about Saddam Hussein before an appearance by Ellen Degeneres. All of these bits more or less worked, but the primary problem here is that Bieber isn’t a strong enough actor to actually sell the fact that he’s in on the joke. I have to believe he understands what’s happening here. But mostly, he conveyed severe hesitation, which gave off the vibe that he wasn’t comfortable with what was going on. Still, that tension made for some riveting TV, even if it wasn’t always funny. [Grade: B]

The Moroccans Of Mulholland Drive: Full disclosure: I don’t watch any of the “Real Housewives” shows, nor their offspring. Still, the idea that every single person in Hollywood has a show on Bravo, E!, or a dozen other networks is fine…for one joke. Unfortunately, this went on for a dozen jokes. That’s pretty much the theme for tonight’s show: not a single segment knows when to quit. Like the Energizer Bunny, they keep going…and going…even though we at home are generally begging them to stop. [Grade: C-]

On Twitter, I just joked that I’d rather watch “Justin Bieber: Unplugged” than "The Californians". Well, here’s what I get for trying to make jokes. Bieber hits the stage to perform an acoustic version of “As Long As You Love Me”. So long as I don’t look directly at him, it’s…not bad! (Sorry, but that outfit makes him look like he’s about to have his hat handed to him inside the Thunderdome.) The plan here is simple and easy to understand: convince people he can actually sing without the aide of Auto-Tune. What’s most striking is the comfort level he exhibits here compared to inside the sketches. Yes, they are two completely different beasts. But watching Adam Levine and Justin Bieber succumb so completely to the pressure in back-to-back weeks helps shine a light on how damn hard what “SNL” attempts to do each week really is. [Grade: B+]

Weekend Update: King Richard III’s Best Friends Growing Up appear to defend the king after his bones were discovered this past week. We’ve seen Fred Armisen and Vanessa Bayer do this a half-dozen times already, so this is really putting lipstick on a pre-Elizabethan pig. The premise is always the same: they always loudly protest their love for Person A, and then whisper their complaints. (Oddly enough, those whispers are still louder that Bieber’s normal speaking voice in tonight’s sketches thus far.) Afterwards, Corey The One Black Guy In Every Commercial comes on to discuss the quality of the Super Bowl commercials. Kenan Thompson brings some welcome edge to the character, who apparently will die if he doesn’t high-five a Caucasian every twelve seconds. (Helping this segment? Seth Meyers’ clear joy at Thompson’s performance.) Thompson’s appearance saves what it otherwise a respectable if rote installment of “Update”. [Grade: B-]

Grease Rip-Off Sketch: Sure, that’s not the actual name of the sketch. But let’s call it what it is and move on. Luckily, it’s not a pure rip-off of “Summer Nights”, but an exploration of male sexual panic and false bravado. There’s an expert build from simple confusion surrounding the workings of a car door to the misunderstanding of the meaning of “sweater puppies” to eventually inventing the fashion stylings that would make Kris Kross the seminal hip-hop act they were. I’m not sure the sketch should have made Bieber’s character eleven years old, however. That seemed to retroactively rob the sketch of some of its bite. Still, for the increasingly worried reactions from Cecily Strong’s companions alone, this was a pretty good sketch, an oasis of laughs in what’s been overall a fairly dire installment. [Grade: B+]

The Miley Cyrus Show: Miley’s back, with a new haircut and a new “sexy” attitude. She also has a tattoo that looks like the one Pam Poovey has on “Archer”. So, that’s something! Bieber plays Pete, the president of the Miley Fan Club and someone who hates…Justin Bieber. Not only does this let Bieber poke fun of himself, it’s also the show’s way of letting him sneak in a “mea culpa” about his recent marijuana bust. What I will say is that Bieber’s more comfortable here than at any other time tonight. Maybe it’s because he just has to sit in a chair and read from the cuecards. Who knows? Who cares? At least he doesn’t look like his family is being held hostage backstage. [Grade: B]

Eddie: I’m guessing Taran Killam has been trying this character out for a while behind-the-scenes. Unfortunately, “SNL” chose this week to bring him out. Why unfortunate? Because the crowd is still pro-Bieber, and this entire sketch is dedicated towards browbeating him. On top of that, Eddie is a one-note character that sucks the oxygen out of the room. It’s no different that a myriad of other characters in “SNL” history that dominate the proceedings so thoroughly that they might as well be one-person sketches. The only person who find this funny? Bieber, who pulls a Bill Hader halfway through and finds it impossible to keep from breaking. There are hints of a solid character by the end (“Show me your secrets, beautiful drifter!”), so maybe this less-than-stellar test run worked out the kinks for the next deployment. Oh, who am I kidding? We’ll probably see ten installments of “The Californians” before we see Eddie again. [Grade: C+]

A Sexy Valentine’s Day Message From Justin Bieber: Who could be sexier than champagne, chocolates, and…Taco? Ah, Bobby Moynihan, you and your creepy man-child characters. You seemingly have a hundred of them, and at least forty-seven of them have been included in “SNL” sketches since your debut. There’s a good idea at work here, but Bieber’s limited range doesn’t allow for a true freak-out necessitated by the premise. I’m guessing there will be five thousand animated .GIFs of this on Tumblr tomorrow, and none of them will feature Taco. So it goes. [Grade: C]

Once again, we have a bandless Bieber, with Justin in front of a grand piano to perform “Nothing Like Us”, which Google tells me is about the Selena Gomez breakup. After further using Google to find out who this “Selena Gomez” person is, I settle in to listen to this song. (I kid. Kind of.) It’s a perfectly serviceable ballad, though more memorable for the piano than the vocal melody. That’s not a slam on Bieber’s vocals, just the songwriting itself. This is perfectly inoffensive pop music, perfect for a demographic that feels every breakup as intensely as this song attempts to portray. Mostly, I feel like giving props to Bieber for stripping things down musically tonight. He has to worry about his music career much more than his acting career, so if he had to increase his viability in one versus the other, he focused on the right one. [Grade: B]

Booker T. Washington Valentine’s Day Dance: Ah, Principal Frye. You’re my favorite of all the Pharoah original creations. This time, he’s hopped up on Ecstasy-laced punch, and he’s worried that people will wager on the intergalactic war being waged on the dance floor On top of that, Bieber once again finally seems comfortable, this time as one-half of an abstinence-loving teen couple who spend their time holding hands while his girlfriend sits on the dryer. Nasim Pedrad’s mannerisms here are downright eerily reminiscent of Cheri O’Teri’s old delivery, albeit fed through Pedrad’s hypersexualized teen character. (Seriously, close your eyes and listen to that line about chewing through a fence.) This wasn’t your typical 12:55 am sketch, but rather simply something placed last due to a variety of circumstances surrounding the show a whole. I mean, we needed all that time for “The Californians” to make us question our respective life decisions, after all. And yes, I’m still bitter. [Grade: B]

Best Sketch: “Grease Rip-Off Sketch”

Worst Sketch: “The Californians”

Most Compelling Sketch: That Madison Square Garden sketch was something else. I feel like I’ll be analyzing that like the Zapruder film for the next week. What a crazy, conflicted, tension-filled piece of live TV. Yes, there were surface-level things that were funny. (Hey, Bobby Moynihan doesn’t have six-pack abs and dances in amusing ways!) But in terms of brand management, it was interesting to see the host agree to have his image mocked and then have the show just turn all barrels upon said host. I’m not sure Bieber’s camp realized what was really going on until after it aired. (If I learned that Sudeikis' "homey" line made its debut during the live show, I would not be surprised in the least.)

OK, now it’s your turn to chime in. How did Bieber do? Was he fully in on the jokes, or did the show manage to have its ratings cake while simultaneously slaughtering its host? Is there anyone clamoring for more of “The Californians”? Sound off below!

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Jonathan

If there are any Nielsen families reading this, I beg of you.

You all need to watch Portlandia, on all your TVs.

Then the ratings will go up and maybe, just maybe, Fred Armisen will decide to devote all his energies to it and GET THE HECK OFF OF SNL ALREADY so we never have to see The Californians again.
February 10, 2013 at 12:47AM EST Reply to Comment
- Brendan Noel I heartily endorse this event or product
  February 10, 2013 at 1:06AM EST
Douglas Kelban

This episode is lousy so far, as does this season Bieber is a lousy actor, and the SNl writers have run out of gas: I say fire them all and start over.
February 10, 2013 at 1:09AM EST Reply to Comment
- Lee Harvey If the writers fail Waltz next week, this season will go down as one of the worst in recent memory. I'm to the point where I can only "hope" so many times.
  February 10, 2013 at 5:19AM EST
Brendan Noel

Overall, a pretty lame show, but not in a fun way. Like all your grades say, a very C+/B- show. This could have been a fun disaster that lets you forward clips to friends the next day, but it was just really forgettable. Any funny jokes had nothing to do with Bieber, who I agreed came off very uncomfortable in this setting. I'd rather just watch a Kate McKinnon/Aidy Bryant sketch show instead.
February 10, 2013 at 2:05AM EST Reply to Comment
jake

The Bieber fan girls constantly screaming hurt a couple of the sketches. There were plenty of lines I missed because of the random screaming at inopportune times.
February 10, 2013 at 2:05AM EST Reply to Comment
- Brendan Noel Agreed. The screaming stepped on his initial use of "glice" in the Eddie sketch (or maybe it was just his quiet voice). Not that that was what ruined the sketch.
  February 10, 2013 at 2:09AM EST
Mike B.

JB must have seen the positive Youtube comments section on this weeks Nashville before choosing his first song.
February 10, 2013 at 2:08AM EST Reply to Comment
- Old King Clancy Well played.
  February 10, 2013 at 12:21PM EST
Josh

I heard Gasteyer the Music Teacher in Nasim's delivery more than O'Teri's, but either way I agree it was familiar.
February 10, 2013 at 2:14AM EST Reply to Comment
carl

Bieber and his fangirls ruined this episode for me. They were very annoying. Bieber didn't seem comfortable with making fun of himself and I agree with you, there was a lot of tension between Bieber and the cast members. I was very disappointed in SNL's choice of Justin Bieber as host.
February 10, 2013 at 2:28AM EST Reply to Comment
- pattijor I think he's a nice Canadian small-town ki who has a lot to learn, but is a hard worker. SNL's writing is atrocious.
  February 10, 2013 at 3:01AM EST
Sean

I'd say most of your grades were too generous. I know people always say the show isn't as good as it used to be, but we are definitely at a low point for the show. This episode was pretty dire. Just compare this Grease sketch to the one featuring Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey. The show is hurting badly this year.
February 10, 2013 at 2:41AM EST Reply to Comment
- Muriel Post a comment...
  February 10, 2013 at 3:55AM EST
Haynie

Super Bowl... one of the better cold opens in a while. Any bit that it dragged was acceptable considering the real incident it was portraying, which was one of the epic dragging moments in the history of the world. It ended very strong, especially with the lines about Marino and Ray Lewis. And like you said, Jay's Shannon Sharpe was fantastic.

Monologue... funny concept, hurt by Bieber's nerves. Could have been so much better if they'd had him go up to actual black girls and give them more of a confused reaction, as opposed to just the ever-smiling faces of his typical fans.

Californians... you said it all, Ryan. The sketch is deader than Jacinth Baker and Richard Loller.

Bieber at MSG... I didn't have the same response to this as you. Sudeikis got awkward toward the end, like he'd misread a line or something. The brief "Ellen" cameo was the only thing I really laughed at.

Moroccans/BRAVO... it's been about a year since the "Real Housewives of Disney," which I thought was one of the funniest sketches they had in 2012. The proximity may have hurt this sketch, but it was very inferior on its own merit.

Weekend Update... that Armisen/Bayer bit has never really been funny. I'd say it's the Californians of recurring Update bits, but that's Anthony Crispino's title. This was a second great week for Keenan, whose Ray Lewis killed and his "Black Guy" character was solid. He's never going to have much range with his characters, but lately they've done a good job finding things that his delivery style works with.

Grease... it was hard to tell where this was going. I was expecting another "Tell Him" when it started, but then it turned into the Grease spoof. The revelations about Bieber's weirdness were funny, but it ended very poorly.

Miley Cyrus... nice callback to a sketch I always enjoyed. I might have let Sudeikis sit this one out and do something more creative with the band, speaking to the new "adult" phase of her career. Bieber finally showed some life here and it seemed to loosen him up for the rest of the show. The best part was when, after Bieber's apology about the weed, Bayer had that insincere "yeah, me too."

Eddie... okay, this one had my wheels spinning. I've been rooting for Killam to get more feature parts in sketches, even be the new anchor of the show. This character was a carbon copy of any number of Will Ferrell's, with the constant in-your-face yelling and hostile delivery. Replace Killam with Ferrell and you would have heard laughter in the heavens, but here it exposed Killam a little and felt very "poor man's." Bieber's crack-ups were about the only thing that made it enjoyable. Maybe it would've been better if they'd moved past the "glice" joke to some other material, but the browbeating just didn't work in Killam's hands.

Valentine's... thought this was a lot funnier than you, Ryan. Pre-taped worked well for Bieber and some of the random stuff like the ultrasound gel and Taco's first appearance made me chuckle more than most of the show's material.

Booker T... like you said, Principal Frye is always welcome. The jokes were a little rough compared to previous installments, but Bieber/Pedrad made up for that. Why this is a 12:55 sketch and Californians got post-monologue status is beyond all logic.

FAVORITE: Super Bowl
WORST: Califorians

Overall, I'd say it was a "C" episode but that Bieber did a "B" job as host. He was game for anything, earned some laughs, and deserves extra credit for the host/musical act combo gig. If I heard he was hosting again I would be happy to watch, which vaults him ahead of many in the recent run.
February 10, 2013 at 3:59AM EST Reply to Comment
Lee Harvey

I've given in to The Californians. Everyone including the cast knows it's terrible, but for me, it's gotten to the point where I laugh now because I just accept its awfulness.
February 10, 2013 at 4:11AM EST Reply to Comment
- Lee Harvey "Eddie" was terrible early on, but got better by the end. I wish they didn't depend so much on "glice" and had Edward harangue Bieber more like he did toward the finish. Did anyone else (Ryan?) notice how good Nasim looked here? Holy cow. I need to go push in a car door.
  February 10, 2013 at 4:50AM EST
- George Kaplan I agree. I genuinely laughed at The Californians the first time they did, hated it the next few times and now it's become so not funny that I kind of enjoy it--like an awful smell that you weirdly can't stop smelling.
  February 10, 2013 at 11:47AM EST
Steve

Bieber, huh. I ended up watching the giant squid show on Discovery instead. I flipped over once to see what was going on. The mother f*cking Californians! I didn't flip back.
February 10, 2013 at 4:16AM EST Reply to Comment
Blown Away

Eh, I think you should give Justin Bieber some credit. I think he was fully in on the jokes. He also made fun of himself during the Miley Cyrus show (I think the "lesbian" reference was probably more scathing than anything.) I think in real life Bieber tends to take himself too seriously. But I think tonight, he was all in.
February 10, 2013 at 5:14AM EST Reply to Comment
- Blackburn Post a comment...
  February 10, 2013 at 9:45AM EST
Blank Slate

Jason Sudeikis gave Beiber the coldest, half-hug at the end of the show. No one looked like they were thrilled on the stage as the credits rolled. Makes me think you're right on the money that Sudeikis ad libbed the Justin zing during the MSG skit.
February 10, 2013 at 10:11AM EST Reply to Comment
- Lee Harvey Noticed that, too. I'm thinking Sudeikis isn't much of a fan.
  February 10, 2013 at 4:14PM EST
Old King Clancy

What's the record for most musicians hosting in one year? It's getting ridiculous.

Damn Californians! I watched an entire OT of ND-Louisville during that sketch. A sketch set here in Chicago talking about taking Lake Shore to Congress to 290 would be equally unfunny. There are roads in other cities besides LA.

I like Taran Killem a lot, but "Eddie" was just Will Ferrell yelling schtick.
February 10, 2013 at 12:20PM EST Reply to Comment
Al

jesus, is this write-up for real?
February 10, 2013 at 4:33PM EST Reply to Comment
A.S.

jesus, is this write-up for real?
February 10, 2013 at 4:34PM EST Reply to Comment
- Jon, The Earl of Hamm Sandwich it's for real. its just not very good. but he says you'll hate it in the beginning so at least he's upfront...
  
  1. Bieber was in on the jokes, McGee. He's trying to mature his image and seprate himself from the tweenbop image. I know you may have never seen this show before, but he's using a little something called the Justin Timberlake gambit. Go back and watch that guy's 1st hosting gig and watch the fun he pokes at his own image.
  
  2. The Californians isn't the best sketch but its starting to become a favorite of mine because of all the criticism it gets. I could name a dozen recurring sketches (Lawrence Wlek show/funny hand girl comes to mind immediately) that are 10 times worse. The thing that everyone misses about the Californians is that it gives everyone, even the host a comfortable chance to participate in a relaxed easy sketch. Also, the beginning nod to 'Soapnet' sets it up as a critique of those shows and the ridiculous love quadrangles. I like the Cali accents, I like the dramatic music in the facial freezes, and people from California can NOT have a conversation without telling you how they got somewhere, its a badge of honor, and its FUNNY to many of us transplants
  February 11, 2013 at 12:58PM EST
- Kat Great post Jon.
  
  1. While I know nothing about Bieber and have not heard his "music" or seen his poor acting before tonight, he certainly seems like a one-trick pony that need to revamp his image given the inevitability of his decline in boyish charm among underage girls. As far as Bieber's acting chops, I would give him a 1/10. Musically, I heard nothing, absolutely nothing which would warrant his acclaim as a musician (Maybe 2.5/10 given the fact that I could do any better). Time will tell how and why this hack reached any level of success.
  
  2. McGee's axe-grinding against the Californians has more to do with his personal tastes than any general consensus on the sketch. I find myself laughing aloud at every episode, and find it often among the "fair to middlin'" batch of sketches in any particular episode. Certainly the Californians is any bit as funny (or grating) as the "What's up with that?" sketch that McGee tends to salivate over.
  
  Take this blog with a grain of salt, as the auteur himself advises. I certainly would prefer a more informed and unbiased (dream on) recap, but for the lack of anything better, tend to come back here, if for no other reason than to b*tch and moan.
  February 13, 2013 at 7:09PM EST
AJ

Best sketch: Super Bowl Blackout.

Worst sketch: All the other ones.

When is Lorne going to finally can Seth Myers? Choosing him as Fey's successor has proven to be a massive blunder he doesn't want to correct. The guy is the head writer and most of the shows aren't funny and trot out the same unfunny characters every week. Not to mention, the guy has had all of 2 truly funny moments doing update that didn't involve past performers like Fey, Fallon, or Poehler, all of which owned Update.
February 11, 2013 at 5:59AM EST Reply to Comment
AJ

Write a comment...Best sketch: Super Bowl Blackout.

Worst sketch: All the other ones.

When is Lorne going to finally can Seth Myers? Choosing him as Fey's successor has proven to be a massive blunder he doesn't want to correct. The guy is the head writer and most of the shows aren't funny and trot out the same unfunny characters every week. Not to mention, the guy has had all of 2 truly funny moments doing update that didn't involve past performers like Fey, Fallon, or Poehler, all of which owned Update.
February 11, 2013 at 5:59AM EST Reply to Comment
Allie

I don't understand why some things become recurring sketches, when they were never funny in the first place. I must say, I still love the gossipy, intimidated "Best Friends from Growing Up" (the name itself is hilarious) and I thought the King Richard thing put a funny new spin on it. What is with "The Californians," though? It might earn a half-hearted guffaw out of me now and then, but it just has no other point other than Californians love to discuss which highway routes they took to get places, and that they have a lot of "aah" sounds in their speech. Shrug! At least they haven't bruoght the Japanese sketch back in a while; that was even MILES less funny than that--a bunch of white kids who pretend to Japanese, dress like Harajukus, and add "duh-duh" at the end of every sentence, just TOO funny. And I do kind of miss Kristen Wiig, but she had a lot of misses and I am certainly glad we won't be hearing from Gilly again.
February 11, 2013 at 11:00AM EST Reply to Comment
tim craycraft

this critic is an idiot....how can you rank eddie higher then the californians
February 11, 2013 at 12:51PM EST Reply to Comment
tim craycraft

this guy is an idoit how can you rate eddie higher then the californians
February 11, 2013 at 12:52PM EST Reply to Comment
- FWB4 The more comments they get like this, the quicker they will hopefully fire him... How does a guy with a terrible sense of humor get the job of recaps for SNL?
  February 11, 2013 at 6:18PM EST
- Kat Fire him? I ASSUME that he volunteers his posts. Nobody is being chained down and forced to read his blog. If, on the off chance the he is actually PAID to write this blog, I suggest that you try extemporaneously composing a recap (i.e., without the benefit of retrospect), compare it to McGee's (albeit idiosyncratic) comments and find for yourself that it is not as easy as it seems. If you feel it is superior to his, try to find someone to pay you for your efforts and I would gladly and loyally read your blog.
  
  As for sense of humor, "terrible" is in the eye of the beholder. I quite seldom agree with him, particularly in terms of grading the dreadful musical often selected, but do not envy his position in the "hot seat". If you disagree with anything he states, feel free to leave an articulate comment ;-) and let the wolves have at it.
  February 13, 2013 at 7:18PM EST
J

I gotta say ... I really enjoyed "Eddie" ... probably more than I should have.
February 27, 2013 at 8:31PM EST Reply to Comment
J

I have to admit ... I may have enjoyed "Eddie" a bit too much. Easily my favorite sketch of the night.
February 27, 2013 at 8:32PM EST Reply to Comment
Jonathan

you idiot!!!! you dont even know how to grade these skits!!! its like, everything i alway like B or C.... that is a bit stupid, as we wouldnt know which ones to watch first!!! you asshole, how can give the valentines skit a C?? i dont think you are as sexy as he is! Fucking bitch
April 4, 2013 at 11:51AM EST Reply to Comment

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Comments

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Brendan Noel I heartily endorse this event or product

Douglas Kelban This episode is lousy so far, as does this season Bieber is a lousy actor, and the SNl writers have run out of gas: I say fire them all and start over.

Lee Harvey If the writers fail Waltz next week, this season will go down as one of the worst in recent memory. I'm to the point where I can only "hope" so many times.

jake The Bieber fan girls constantly screaming hurt a couple of the sketches. There were plenty of lines I missed because of the random screaming at inopportune times.

Brendan Noel Agreed. The screaming stepped on his initial use of "glice" in the Eddie sketch (or maybe it was just his quiet voice). Not that that was what ruined the sketch.

Mike B. JB must have seen the positive Youtube comments section on this weeks Nashville before choosing his first song.

Old King Clancy Well played.

Josh I heard Gasteyer the Music Teacher in Nasim's delivery more than O'Teri's, but either way I agree it was familiar.

carl Bieber and his fangirls ruined this episode for me. They were very annoying. Bieber didn't seem comfortable with making fun of himself and I agree with you, there was a lot of tension between Bieber and the cast members. I was very disappointed in SNL's choice of Justin Bieber as host.

pattijor I think he's a nice Canadian small-town ki who has a lot to learn, but is a hard worker. SNL's writing is atrocious.

Muriel Post a comment...

Lee Harvey I've given in to The Californians. Everyone including the cast knows it's terrible, but for me, it's gotten to the point where I laugh now because I just accept its awfulness.

Lee Harvey "Eddie" was terrible early on, but got better by the end. I wish they didn't depend so much on "glice" and had Edward harangue Bieber more like he did toward the finish. Did anyone else (Ryan?) notice how good Nasim looked here? Holy cow. I need to go push in a car door.

George Kaplan I agree. I genuinely laughed at The Californians the first time they did, hated it the next few times and now it's become so not funny that I kind of enjoy it--like an awful smell that you weirdly can't stop smelling.

Steve Bieber, huh. I ended up watching the giant squid show on Discovery instead. I flipped over once to see what was going on. The mother f*cking Californians! I didn't flip back.

Blackburn Post a comment...

Blank Slate Jason Sudeikis gave Beiber the coldest, half-hug at the end of the show. No one looked like they were thrilled on the stage as the credits rolled. Makes me think you're right on the money that Sudeikis ad libbed the Justin zing during the MSG skit.

Lee Harvey Noticed that, too. I'm thinking Sudeikis isn't much of a fan.

Al jesus, is this write-up for real?

A.S. jesus, is this write-up for real?

tim craycraft this critic is an idiot....how can you rank eddie higher then the californians

tim craycraft this guy is an idoit how can you rate eddie higher then the californians

FWB4 The more comments they get like this, the quicker they will hopefully fire him... How does a guy with a terrible sense of humor get the job of recaps for SNL?

J I gotta say ... I really enjoyed "Eddie" ... probably more than I should have.

J I have to admit ... I may have enjoyed "Eddie" a bit too much. Easily my favorite sketch of the night.

Jonathan you idiot!!!! you dont even know how to grade these skits!!! its like, everything i alway like B or C.... that is a bit stupid, as we wouldnt know which ones to watch first!!! you asshole, how can give the valentines skit a C?? i dont think you are as sexy as he is! Fucking bitch

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Saturday Night Live is updated

Douglas Kelban

This episode is lousy so far, as does this season Bieber is a lousy actor, and the SNl writers have run out of gas: I say fire them all and start over.

jake

The Bieber fan girls constantly screaming hurt a couple of the sketches. There were plenty of lines I missed because of the random screaming at inopportune times.

Mike B.

JB must have seen the positive Youtube comments section on this weeks Nashville before choosing his first song.

Josh

I heard Gasteyer the Music Teacher in Nasim's delivery more than O'Teri's, but either way I agree it was familiar.

carl

Bieber and his fangirls ruined this episode for me. They were very annoying. Bieber didn't seem comfortable with making fun of himself and I agree with you, there was a lot of tension between Bieber and the cast members. I was very disappointed in SNL's choice of Justin Bieber as host.

Lee Harvey

I've given in to The Californians. Everyone including the cast knows it's terrible, but for me, it's gotten to the point where I laugh now because I just accept its awfulness.

Steve

Bieber, huh. I ended up watching the giant squid show on Discovery instead. I flipped over once to see what was going on. The mother f*cking Californians! I didn't flip back.

Blank Slate

Jason Sudeikis gave Beiber the coldest, half-hug at the end of the show. No one looked like they were thrilled on the stage as the credits rolled. Makes me think you're right on the money that Sudeikis ad libbed the Justin zing during the MSG skit.

Al

jesus, is this write-up for real?

A.S.

jesus, is this write-up for real?

tim craycraft

this critic is an idiot....how can you rank eddie higher then the californians

tim craycraft

this guy is an idoit how can you rate eddie higher then the californians

J

I gotta say ... I really enjoyed "Eddie" ... probably more than I should have.

J

I have to admit ... I may have enjoyed "Eddie" a bit too much. Easily my favorite sketch of the night.

Jonathan

you idiot!!!! you dont even know how to grade these skits!!! its like, everything i alway like B or C.... that is a bit stupid, as we wouldnt know which ones to watch first!!! you asshole, how can give the valentines skit a C?? i dont think you are as sexy as he is! Fucking bitch

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