I'm really enjoying this season so far. With all of the old stalwarts gone (with the exception of Kenan), it's refreshing to see the newer cast members get the chance in the spotlight they deserve. Cecily Strong, in particular, has been a very good addition to Weekend Update. She's still a little rough around the edges with the format, but she's hilarious and she'll smooth them out as time goes on.
The Tina Fey and Miley Cyrus episodes were pretty enjoyable*. The Bruce Willis episode was absolutely abysmal, but that's to be predicted -- whenever SNL runs for three consecutive weekends, the third episode always seems to suffer from having completely run out of good ideas. I mean, seriously, who thought that the Lady Gaga Talk Show sketch was a good idea? It's literally rehashing two very funny sketches from recent seasons -- The Miley Cyrus Talk Show (also fronted by Vanessa Bayer) and
the Pantene commercial with Sofia Vergara and Kate McKinnon's Penelope Cruz -- and making sure that the result is less funny than the originals. Plus, Vanessa's Gaga impression has nothing on her Miley impression.
Some predictions for how the rest of the season will play out, based on the season so far:
- Taran Killam, as one of the strongest overall performers of the current cast, will probably be shoehorned into more and more sketches for most of the season, as Kristen Wiig was a few seasons back (though I do love Kristen!), before they finally pull back.
- At least two of the six (!) featured players will "mutually agree" to part ways with the show/be fired. As it stands right now, my bets are on Mike O'Brien (who will probably return to the writer's table) and Kyle Mooney.
- When Seth finally leaves the Weekend Update desk, Cecily will be paired up with another female in hopes of recreating the Tina/Amy magic.
- I had another one, but now I can't remember it. Shit.
*Said knowing that there's always at least one or two sketches that are complete stinkers, even in the best episodes.