Conehead Nation, arise! SNL in Review: The Anniversary Review is back and we’re three episodes in. Many of you agreed with me that last week’s episode was a pleasant respite from a clunky, unpleasant season premiere. Numbers don’t lie. Tonight we have a special match: Bowen Yang Evil Co-star Ariana Grande is paired with a deep cut SNL musical guest, a real legend: Stevie Nicks. That’s how big Stevie Nicks is: Not only did she first play in 8H in 1983, but there’s also a classic sketch that spoofs Nicks, who himself is over 25 years old! Longevity and lore, folks. SNL50.

Grande last appeared on SNL a few months ago – but as a musical guest. However, she was already a host in the 41st season. (The breakdown sketch “Tidal” remains a late-period classic.) Taran Killam, now appearing in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Kennedy Center (which opened this weekend): “What excites me most is Stevie Nicks. Hosting it with Ariana is appointment television for me.”

Further information can be found below! We also have former cast member Gary Kroeger who brings some quotes about this momentous evening and season.

Opened cold

Broadcasting the football game on NBC resulted in a “game delay” of today’s cold open. Kaitlan Collins (Chloe Fineman) is a guest on CNN. She describes Donald Trump’s fear of confronting Kamala Harris – except Family feud! So here we go…

Kenan Thompson gets to take out his great Steve Harvey. Maya Rudolph is back as Vice President Harris – she’s been active in the media this week. As always, Andy Samberg is there as “Doug the Shrug” alongside Joe Biden (Dana Carvey) and Tim Walz (Jim Gaffigan). Steve Harvey asks Harris what she keeps in her glove compartment. After she gives her standard speech, Harvey convinces her to say “Glock.” And when it’s Doug’s turn, he says “second weapon” – the rest of the Democratic team isn’t quite as successful.

James Austin Johnson’s Trump is NOT accompanied by wife Melania. Mikey Day returns as Don Jr. but no Alex Moffat as Eric? That’s a shame.

Doug Emeroff expressed his approval of Andy Samberg’s impression – as did Kamala Harris of Rudolph’s portrayal of her. I asked Gary Kroeger if Samberg’s take is too soft. He notes: “It is the actor’s job to do the impression, and it is the sketch’s job to do the satire. An impression is not necessarily a spot-on imitation, but should have a character twist that comes from the actor to reveal something.” A new way to look at it… The fact that Emeroff liked Samberg’s impression is nice, I think I did a few back in the day and my intention was always to hope that the subject presented would find my perspective amusing.

Kroeger added: “It doesn’t bother me that celebrities are brought in to do the political impersonations. I don’t doubt the success or the fact that the viewership could increase, but I always thought that the cast should do everything SNL with very few exceptions. To me, that’s the magic of the show, that there’s a cast that can do anything you put in front of them.”

monologue

Grande notes that she’s had a great year – she’s a theater kid, so being in it is a dream Evil. One point: She’s just here to host, hold back and NOT sing. With that she immediately starts singing. And yes, she embodies Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus and Gwen Stefani in her number. As mentioned, she did this in an actual sketch in 2016. With modern SNLHowever, it’s just a box they tick.

Grande and Bowen Yang have a nice moment on commentary Evil. (Gary Kroeger hasn’t seen the series, but remembers his former actor Tim Kazurinsky being on it once and hearing that he was great!)

At the end of her song, she calls together a choir of dancers for the grand finale. But…she claims she’s keeping it low key!

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“Wedding”

Johnson is just finishing a normal and boring best man speech at a wedding reception. The bridesmaids, however, do quirky and a little different – they wrote a special song about the bride’s bachelorette party in Charleston. And so begins a parody of Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso.” The girls – Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodim, Sarah Sherman and Grande – tell a story about the bride and a man named Domingo who got together for girls’ weekend. “Not for nothing, but the rhyme scheme got completely out of whack over the weekend,” complains the groom (Andrew Dismukes). He is becoming increasingly worried. I like that the vocals are a bit off – that’s not supposed to be good.

But wait, Marcello Hernandez also makes a surprise appearance as Domingo!

“Saturday Night Live Midnight Matinee – My Best Friend’s House”

This is a short film by Dan Bulla, folks. Grande shows up at her best friend’s house and sings for the third time tonight! She thinks nostalgically about the smell of this house: her brother’s deodorant, her father’s smell of sauce. It’s sweet until things take a dark turn. Seems like she missed a few clues.

Sarah Squirm as the severed human head is clever casting.

FYI: Bulla has produced several Adam Sandler films including: The Ridiculous 6, crime thriller, And Hubie Halloween. He has been writing for the show since 2019, but was just named writing supervisor.

“Charades with Mom”

Bowen Yang meets his friend’s parents and they start playing charades. The mother (Grande) becomes very competitive and mean. She repeatedly denigrates Yang. Apparently the show sees Yang as its star these days. There’s a fake body moment and then a polyamorous kiss.

Jane Wickline remains a bit awkward, doesn’t she?

“Celine Dion’s UFC promo”

Oh yeah, now we’re redoing Grande’s Dion impression. In a hilarious new Sunday Night Football promo, Dion joked that her hit “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” perfectly captures the rivalries in the NFL. So now, SNLWhat if she did it for the UFC? Secure.

Stevie Nicks plays “The Lighthouse”

“The Lighthouse” was released last month as a rallying cry for women to reinvigorate the fight for reproductive health care. “I have my scars, you have yours/ Don’t let them, take your power,” she sings. “They will take your soul, they will take your power unless you save them.” What a ballad.

As mentioned, Nicks first played 8H in the early 80s. Gary Kroeger remembers the Season 8 appearance: “I was in my 20s when she did that SNL during my time there! When she came on the scene 10 years ago, I was still a teenager! Was I a fan of Stevie Nicks? Of course I was! She was one of them if not The Goddess of Rock and Roll. I was too nervous to say hello. I don’t remember her spending much time with her and I don’t remember her at the after party either, but that doesn’t mean my memory is correct. Just that I was too shy to say anything. She was great on the show.

Sheryl Crow plays guitar and bass and sings on this track, which she co-produced. (And yes, she played in 8H three times.)

Weekend update

Like Trump, Coachella brings out the worst in white people, cracks Colin Jost. Michael Che jokes that Trump will soon have bangs. More Trump jokes – Jost makes a brutal abortion joke and then takes a swipe at New York City Mayor Adams. “It’s the 90s, Colin,” Che calls back (twice). Some Diddy jokes tonight!

The strangely happy Amazon employee Monica (Ego Nwodim) wishes us good morning – it’s Prime Day, Amazon’s biggest sales event. She works so much that she invented her own day and deals with drones. Pretty funny commentary on the modern tech workforce/economy.

Joel and Liam Gallagher stop by to talk about their Oasis reunion. Tonight they are played by Sarah Sherman and James Austin Johnson. They discuss what they agree on: cartoons. Jost has to reckon with the upcoming tour so he can break through and win the White Boy of the Year award. Hey SNL History buffs, Jim Breuer played Liam Gallagher in Jon Lovitz’s November 1997 episode during the “Set Our Nanny Free” sketch. Oasis also played 8H in October 1997 with host Matthew Perry.

“Italy, Late Renaissance”

The Italian Renaissance was a period of profound cultural, artistic and intellectual growth in Italy from the 14th to 17th centuries.

Maya Rudolph and Andy Samberg appear in this sketch. I’ve said it before, but these glorified celebrity appearances aren’t just cameos. It is SNL50, a special season – let’s recognize these entries as the “Avengers Unite” moment of live network comedy. Call them what they are: real performers! Dana Carvey too. It’s not just semantics. What exactly are we doing here?

Anyway, the pale and sickly Antonio (Grande) is the son of Rudolph and Samberg, blessed with a heavenly singing voice. They castrated him to perfect his voice for the local royalty (Dissukes). Despite his parents’ protests, Antonio seems dead inside.

Grande sings “Twist and Shout” here, another skit where the show relies on her voice. Fun.

Stevie Nicks performs “Edge of Seventeen”

After the second “game delay” of this episode, we return from commercial – and it’s worth it! “Edge of Seventeen” is on the menu and I know somewhere Joan Cusack is happy. A timeless classic. She discusses “Nightbird,” which she performed during her last appearance on the show. I’m a fan of it!

Another sign of Nicks’ longevity: 45 years ago today, Fleetwood Mac released their album Tusk.