I’ve been watching “Saturday Night Live” for most of my life. Which makes me think of how old I am, and how being in my mid-30s proves the passage of time is needlessly cruel. Anywho, I’ve been around to mildly chuckle to myself at least once or twice a season for the bulk of the show’s run.
Season 51 will be remembered for a few things. One is Bowen Yang’s mid-season exit, which was shocking and tragically sad. Another is the Dropout TV to SNL pipeline that gave us Jeremy Culhane, one of the best newcomers to ever drop a banger rookie campaign on the cast. My favorite was the inclusion of so many Bob Dylan impressions by James Austin Johnson!
And finally, there were three of the best episodes back-to-back-to-back we will ever see. Those are the top three ranked sketches of the year, so you’ll have to scroll down (or read my words!) to see which those were.
But first, a mini ranked list of Weekend Update videos:
#5 Sarah Sherman as both a drunk raccoon and as Punch the Monkey’s Mom who hits on Colin Jost
#4 Two people who just hooked up talk about the Super Bowl
#3 Black Snape
#2 Jeremy Culhane as both Mr. On Blast and Tucker Carlson
#1 Emojis
Okay now for the actual sketches of the season.
#10 “Black Santa” (Episode 9: Ariana Grande)
Ariana Grande is one of the modern “SNL” GOATs. She is so incredibly talented, funny, can sing, do impressions, and any time she shows up it’s a guaranteed great episode because the level of writing goes up a notch to complement her. She got the Christmas episode this year, well last year technically, and it was also Bowen’s last show.
But none of that matters because Kenan is still the best and this song is catchy as hell. DO YOU BELIEVEEEEEEEEEEEEE IN BLACK SANTA CLAUS? Those are the lyrics now, sorry Cher.
#9 “Kathy” (Episode 16: Jack Black)
The next few sketches are what’s now known as the “Ashley Padilla Zone.” Either you think she’s one of the best reasons to watch the show, OR… you are not currently reading this article. After the show saw such women as Ego Nwodim, Heidi Gardner, Melissa Villasenor, Leslie Jones, Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon, Vanessa Bayer, and Kristen Wiig all leave, it’s pretty much in the hands of Ashley Padilla (and to a lesser extent, Sarah Sherman and Chloe Fineman) to play all of the lovable weirdos.
It feels like Ashley is propping the show up on her shoulders, at times. The best sketches of several episodes are just “Ashley does something memorable and crazy,” and it works. For instance…
#8 “Haircut” (Episode 6: Glen Powell)
Who else could do this? Wiig and McKinnon are gone. She just pulls this off brilliantly. Poor Glen Powell — he got his doors blown off in this skit.
#7 “Boys Podcast” (Episode 3: Sabrina Carpenter)
Everything I said about Ariana Grande above is the same for Sabrina. Right out of the gate, I knew she would be a natural at this. And the best recurring bit she’s in is playing a pre-teen boy who is neither chopped nor unc. Straight fire on this one, boys.
#6 “Auctioneers” (Episode 19: Matt Damon)
Sarah Sherman is a beautiful genius. A mad woman who started on “The Eric Andre Show” and is taking over “SNL” with her insane, twisted sense of humor and gross out material.
But I suspect she is responsible for this impressive piece which shows off the acting skills required to rapidly read out all of these auction lines and not break NOR mess it up NOR sound impossible to understand.
#5 “Mom Confession” (Episode 12: Alexander Skarsgard)
This one broke out into the mainstream a bit. It left containment of “SNL” watching weirdos like myself, and hit the culture way too late for my liking but it definitely resonated.
Again, Ashley is probably the best cast member right now, which is hard for me to say because I’m a Sherman man myself. I stan these two queens of comedy.
#4 “Missing Wives Docuseries” (Episode 4: Miles Teller)
It’s too accurate and spot on for me to not include in the top five. It’s also my fiancée’s favorite so I had to put it high or else she will become a widow. Because she would murder me, is the joke.
#3 “Ice Skating” (Episode 13: Connor Storrie) but really the entire episode
Okay, the big three. These three hosts coming up, starting with Connor Storrie, were by far the best of the season. Like, the quality and quantity of these three (we’ll get to Harry Styles and Ryan Gosling soon) compared to the rest is night and day different.
Plenty of picks I could have made, including “Mr. Fronzi,” “Stripper,” or the controversial “Tourette’s.” But I went with the most heartwarming, crowd pleasing, and odd one of the bunch. Because, yes, it had that cameo we were all expecting.
#2 “White Castle Drive-Thru” (Episode 15: Harry Styles), but really the entire episode
What a fucking phenom this guy is. Every joke can be boiled down to “he is hot and possibly pansexual like Mick Jagger” but when done correctly, and I would argue it was here, he was IN on that bit and they just hit home run after home run.
We got a Sebastian Maniscalco, “MAHAspital,” “Mr. Pooty,” and the best Weekend Update of the year. But I had to go with the clever and endlessly fun “White Castle Drive-Thru,” as it’s the best use of Jane Wickline and Veronika Slowikowska all season long.
Honorable Mentions
“Experienced Lawyer” (Episode 2: Amy Poehler)
“Bachelorette Party Strippers” (Episode 8: Josh O’Connor)
“Heated Wizardry” (Episode 10: Finn Wolfhard)
“Beastomorphs” (Episode 17: Colman Domingo)
“Shop TV: Lava Cake” (Episode 18: Olivia Rodrigo)
“Juicy Toobins” (Episode 20: Will Ferrell)
#1 “Cyclops” (Episode 14: Ryan Gosling) but really the entire episode
Getting this, with the monologue being incredible due to Harry Styles, and then the Styles episode the next week, is legendary. The entire cast and crew elevate their game when Ryan comes to town, because he’s the 21st century Michael Jordan of “SNL” hosts. Even the make-up department are firing on all cylinders. The work here is so impressive.
Ryan Gosling hasn’t even joined the five timers club yet, but his stuff is so iconic. “Papyrus.” “Beavis and Butt-Head.” “Close Encounters.” And now… “Cyclops.”
I’ve been quoting this one for weeks. Everyday is just “is that the treasure?” and “can you open the door?” and “hat.” The fact that everyone is trying to make each other break, and succeeding, while there is no need because the material is already gold, man that is just “SNL” perfection. What I would have given to be there that night.
Ashley cooked in this one. So did Mikey Day. And I could have gone with “Wedding Tradition,” or “Passing Notes,” or “The Goo Goo Man,” or “Monty McTreats and the Pastry Bakery.” But asking for the riddle, and saying randomly that “she’s my wife” is gut-busting stuff. Props to Gosling, he needs more awards in his trophy case as well as a sexiest man alive cover shoot.
Image Credit: SNL, NBC
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