SNL came back this season without Will Forte (big bummer) or Jenny Slate (also a bummer, though a smaller bummer) and although it gained a couple of new faces, I remain skeptical about this season’s ability to create characters worth watching.
I mean, this current cast has some absolutely horrendous recurring characters. I hereby deem these characters (or crapracters) the 5 Worst SNL characters that the current cast has produced:
1. Barack Obama by Fred Armisen
This might be the single worst Presidential take SNL has ever had. I know SNL needs to do Obama jokes (cause he’s the President, and the show needs to be “relevant”) but please stop. The sooner they stop making Fred Armisen do Obama, the better the odds that this show will actually be good again. This is just terrible, and he’s been doing it for like three embarrassing years, or some other ridiculously long amount of time. Also, there’s a new guy on the show that does a pretty good Obama. MAYBE YOU SHOULD CHANGE ACTORS, SNL.
2. What Up With That? by Kenan Thompson
I really hate this sketch. It’s the same exact dumb thing every week. Kenan says a bunch of random things in a song, and there are random celebrities. HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA. HOW BRILLIANT! It was funny the first time, I guess. But hey, everyone who I am Facebook friends with, please don’t post the next one on your Facebook because it’s not funny anymore.
3. Suze Orman by Kristen Wiig
You know, this might be a good impression, but I think it really typifies everything that Kristen Wiig has become on SNL: SUPER ANNOYING. Of all the Kristen Wiig characters on SNL, this is absolutely the worst. Please never come back, Suze Orman.
4. Kissing Family by The Entire SNL Cast
I think there have been four of five sketches at this point of a family that kisses a lot. Nothing changes, nothing heightens. It’s just a sketch about people kissing. There hasn’t been a kissing family sketch this season yet, but there has been a kissing game show host, which I actually think is worse because it’s evidence that SNL is ripping itself off in a way I never could have imagined. It’s just a matter of time before that sketch becomes a monologue where everyone kisses the host. It’s pretty played out, SNL. Drop it.
5. Really? by Seth Meyers
I believe that you are a good Weekend Update host, Seth Myers. I think you are the best Weekend Update host since Norm McDonald (the best of all time). I mean sure, Dennis Miller and Kevin Nealon were better too, but you actually do a good job. If David Spade were likable, you’d be him. But ‘Really?’ REALLY? I hate it. I hate it so much. Please never do it again. I would pay money to have you never do it again. Just make jokes. Don’t make “Really” jokes. Thanks.
Those awful characters aside, all is not lost for SNL. It has managed to rack up a number of solid characters as well, and I’m positive that if they keep using these characters, and heightening the joke in original and exciting ways, then maybe, just maybe they can each earn their own wildly successful movie franchise (MacGruber!). That’s the ultimate goal, right?
Here are my choices for the 5 Best characters the current cast has produced:
1. Mark Payne ‘The Pepper Guy’ by Bobby Moynihan
Out of the gate, I’m making bold choices. This was in Bobby Moynihan’s first episode two seasons ago, and I’ve been begging for more ever since. A lot of people hate this character, but I am an unabashed fan.
2. Denzel Washington by Jay Pharaoh
This Denzel Washington impression is 1. Accurate and 2. Hilarious. I don’t know if it’s more Denzel Washington from Jay Pharaoh I want, or just more Jay Pharaoh. Either way, this guy is a 22 year-old phenomenon. We’re definitely going to see more good stuff from this guy.
3. Stefon by Bill Hader
You know what? This sketch should be annoying. For all intents and purposes this is just one recurring joke over and over again, but it’s Bill Hader’s commitment that really sells it. Also, it’s cool to see how funny he thinks it is. Somehow, when Hader cracks up it’s a lot more charming than when Jimmy Fallon did it (which was always).
4. Bedelia by Nasim Pedrad
This is just a brilliant character. Nasim Pedrad’s take on a fourteen year-old girl that thinks her parents are the coolest thing in the world is one of the best recurring characters in the past five years. Early adolescence has to be one of the most awkward times in any girl’s life, and this is a pretty inventive take on it.
5. The Lonely Island by The Lonely Island
This isn’t really a “character” persay, but the Lonely Island songs, by, er… the Lonely Island are really one of the best things in the entire run of the show. When someone writes a history book about SNL, “The Lonely Island” will be an entire chapter. So I’ll pretend, for arguments sake, that it’s a character. MORE SONGS! MORE SONGS! MORE SONGS! If SNL included a The Lonely Island song every week we’d have at least one solid piece of comedy for every episode.
