The second episode of SNL this season, hosted by Bryan Cranston, differed kind of drastically from the first. Rather than let the host and veteran cast members take the lead in almost all of the sketches, the new featured players were given a lot of opportunities to try out new characters and get some screen time. And Bryan Cranston barely did anything, really! Right? Although he was in nearly every sketch, with the exception of the cold open, ads and digital short, he was rarely a major character and was often relegated to playing the straight man.
In any case, here are this week’s numbers:
Repertory Players
Fred Armisen
-Major Characters: 2 (Cold Open, Bjelland Brothers)
-Minor Appearances: 2 (What Up With That?, Rescue Dogs Digital Short)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: 0
Abby Elliott
-Major Characters: 0
-Minor Appearances: 3 (What Up With That?, Shanna, Kid Smartz)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: 0
Bill Hader
-Major Characters: 0
-Minor Appearances: 2 (Monologue, What Up With That?)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: 0
Bobby Moynihan
-Major Characters: 0
-Minor Appearances: 3 (Cold Open, Monologue, Miley Cyrus Show)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: Anthony Crispino
Andy Samberg
-Major Characters: 2 (Cold Open, Rescue Dogs Digital Short)
-Minor Appearances: 4 (Pepto-Bismol Ice Ad, Miley Cyrus Show, Shanna, Kid Smartz)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: Cathy
-Bonus: Said “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”
Jason Sudeikis
-Major Characters: 0
-Minor Appearances: 1 (What Up With That?)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: 0
Kenan Thompson
-Major Characters: 3 (What Up With That?, Kid Smartz, i-Sleep Pro Ad)
-Minor Appearances: 3 (Monologue, Shanna, Rescue Dogs Digital Short)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: 0
Kristen Wiig
-Major Characters: 1 (Shanna)
-Minor Appearances: 0
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: 0
Featured players
Vanessa Bayer
-Major Characters: 1 (Miley Cyrus Show)
-Minor Appearances: 2 (What Up With That?, Kid Smartz)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: 0
Paul Brittain
-Major Characters: 1 (Miley Cyrus Show)
-Minor Appearances: 1 (What Up With That?)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: 0
Taran Killam
-Major Characters: 0
-Minor Appearances: 4 (Monologue, Pepto-Bismol Ice Ad, What Up With That?, Shanna)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: 0
Nasim Pedrad
-Major Characters: 1 (Henry)
-Minor Appearances: 2 (Pepto-Bismol Ice Ad, What Up With That?)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: 0
Jay Pharoah
-Major Characters: 0
-Minor Appearances: 1 (What Up With That?)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: 0
Winners and Losers
Something else was strange about this episode – all of the appearances from the cast of the film Red. Morgan Freeman and the too cute Ernest Borgnine in “What Up With That,” and Helen Mirren briefly in the digital short. I guess this is how they apologize for not inviting someone from your movie to actually host the show.
The winner for this episode may be Kanye West, who’s musical performances are without a doubt the most talked-about aspect of the show today.
But as for the cast members, it looks like the winner this week is Kenan Thompson. Also, let’s say the other winner is Bobby Moynihan. The two people who were on the bottom last week! Very exciting and dramatic! Kenan was all over the place this episode, and Bobby wasn’t as much, but he was given a sizable Weekend Update appearance with his great “Anthony Crispino” character.
As for the new featured players, Vanessa Bayer and Paul Brittain got to carry the lead sketch of the night with their dead-on, “pretty cool” Miley and Johnny Depp impressions in the “Miley Cyrus Show.”
On the bottom are Jason Sudeikis, who only showed up once as the dancing guy in “What Up With That,” and Jay Pharoah, who also made his sole appearance in “What Up With That.”
Also Bryan Cranston, sadly, is on the bottom. Better luck next time, Bryan Cranston!
Kelly Conaboy writes a lot, but it’s never about anything.
