Scarlett Johansson was SNL’s host this week. Her monologue was kind of extra not-that-good, right? That was unfortunate, and it definitely didn’t bode well for the outcome of the episode. But then she went on to be a major character in almost every sketch and kind of did an all right job. Also, she was very pretty throughout. But enough about that! This is not SNL Host Race Roundup. That wouldn’t even make any sense.
All of the cast members got a pretty decent shot in this episode, due to many of the sketches requiring lots of them. But there can only be one winner and one loser, unless there are multiple of each. So let’s see how everyone did:
Repertory Players
Fred Armisen
-Major Characters: 3 (Cold Open, Manuel Ortiz Show, Mike’s Busteria)
-Minor Appearances: 2 (St. Katherine’s Middle School, Stars of Tomorrow)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: Frank Madden
Abby Elliott
-Major Characters: 0
-Minor Appearances: 4 (Monologue, MTV “Pregnant” Ad, Millionaire Matchmaker, Mike’s Busteria)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: 0
Bill Hader
-Major Characters: 2 (Cold Open, Hollywood Dish)
-Minor Appearances: 2 (Manuel Ortiz Show, Digital Short)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: 0
-Bonus: Said “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” (kind of)
Bobby Moynihan
-Major Characters: 0
-Minor Appearances: 3 (MTV “Pregnant” Ad, Millionaire Matchmaker, Stars of Tomorrow)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: 0
Andy Samberg
-Major Characters: 1 (Digital Short)
-Minor Appearances: 3 (MTV “Pregnant” Ad, Manuel Ortiz Show, St. Katherine’s Middle School)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: 0
Jason Sudeikis
-Major Characters: 0
-Minor Appearances: 1 (Manuel Ortiz Show)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: George W. Bush
Kenan Thompson
-Major Characters: 1 (St. Katherine’s Middle School)
-Minor Appearances: 2 (Manuel Ortiz Show, Mike’s Busteria)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: 0
Kristen Wiig
-Major Characters: 2 (Hollywood Dish, Paula Deen’s Big Ol’ Soakems)
-Minor Appearances: 4 (Monologue, Manuel Ortiz Show, St. Katherine’s Middle School, Stars of Tomorrow)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: 0
Featured players
Vanessa Bayer
-Major Characters: 1 (Millionaire Matchmaker)
-Minor Appearances: 2 (MTV “Pregnant” Ad, Stars of Tomorrow)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: Gladys Madden
Paul Brittain
-Major Characters: 0
-Minor Appearances: 3 (Unstoppable Trailer, St. Katherine’s Middle School, Mike’s Busteria)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: 0
Taran Killam
-Major Characters: 1 (Unstoppable Trailer)
-Minor Appearances: 2 (Millionaire Matchmaker, St. Katherine’s Middle School)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: 0
Nasim Pedrad
-Major Characters: 0
-Minor Appearances: 3 (Cold Open, MTV “Pregnant” Ad, Manuel Ortiz Show)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: 0
-Bonus: Said “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”
Jay Pharoah
-Major Characters: 1 (Unstoppable Trailer)
-Minor Appearances: 1 (MTV “Pregnant” Ad)
-Weekend Update Desk Appearances: Kanye West
Winners and Losers
The winner this week looks to be the frequent winner Fred Armisen, with the other frequent winner Kristen Wiig coming in at a very close second. How about give somebody else a chance? You guys are a regular New York Yankees or something, I don’t know.
Even though the numbers don’t really reflect it, it also feels like Vanessa Bayer deserves some sort of “winner” mention. She was featured a lot in this episode, especially considering that she is not a repertory player. Good for you, Vanessa Bayer.
The loser this week is pretty clearly Jason Sudeikis. Jason! He had a weekend update appearance, but it wasn’t that substantial, and then he only had a very minor role in the “Manuel Ortiz Show” sketch. To be honest, I didn’t even know it was him at first. I thought it was Taran Killam. Maybe it was Taran Killam. Who knows. But yeah I don’t think it was, I’m pretty sure it was Jason Sudeikis.
So that’s this week. Better luck next time, Jason. Keep up the abundant work, Fred and Kristen. I wish they would use you more, Jay and Paul. Oh, and good job, Arcade Fire.
Kelly Conaboy writes a lot, but it’s never about anything.
