Saturday Night Live, Reviewed and Ranked: Season 3

"I never watch television. Never. I don't even own a television. Electricity is evil. It kills the creative mindset."

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Of the first five seasons of the show, I've been most curious about Season 3. Beyond the fact that it's well-regarded as the finest of the original era, it feels like all of the wonders of the show are coming in at a fevered pitch. There's some legendary episodes here, from Charles Grodin, to the atomic lobsters, to the quintessential Steve Martin gig. There are points of intrigue, like Hugh Hefner, returning alum host Chevy Chase, or Miskel Spillman and the Anyone Can Host competition. Gary Weiss is on the way out, and Tom Schiller's on the way in. And there's also O. J. Simpson. Basically, there's a lot to look forward to, and also O. J. Simpson!

Does Season 3 live up to its mythical status in the pantheon of Saturday Night Live? Scroll down and find out!

For my reviews of the preceding season, Season 2, CLICK HERE!

Summer Camp Island Review: Breakfast Like Gene Kelly / Spirit Balls

"What's the difference between the dream you and the awake you?" "About twenty pounds of lean muscle, hair for days, softer hair."

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It's been long enough since my last review so let's just dive into this!

"Breakfast Like Gene Kelly" is the sort of quintessentially warm SCI episode I was hoping to kick off this season. While I (of course) appreciate the show's constant broadening of scope, allowing for more characters to step into the spotlight than ever before, there's nothing more comforting than a classic Osc-Hog pairing. After all, those two were created for each other; their dynamic is untouchable, balancing Oscar's charming naivete off with Hedgehog's bookish smarts, and it's always a delight to see.

While this isn't the most perfectly balanced episode for the two, with Oscar taking a more prominent lead, Hedgehog's input is the crucial ingredient that helps send things home. If anything, the episode is a reflection of how nurturing Hedgehog is at every step of the way. Oscar dreams of a perfectly choreographed breakfast ritual, pirouetting around a kitchen and throwing his ingredients in the air with graceful precision, in spite of the fact that it comes in complete contrast to his relatively graceless existence. Hedgehog never treats those dreams as some unattainable fantasy, though, even if all evidence would point towards Oscar's ability to pull it off as suspect; instead, she's determined to help him understand the circumstances that could enable it to happen. 

Saturday Night Live, Ranked and Reviewed: Season 2

"We're just packaging what the kids want, ya know?"

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I greatly enjoyed watching the first season of the show, especially with how experimental and loose it tended to feel, but I also felt like the show was still frequently unsure of itself and what sort of show it wanted to be. I was greatly looking for to the second season, then, to see how the show would continue to develop and solidify. Did it live up to those expectations? See for yourself!

In case you missed it: for my reviews of Season 1, CLICK HERE! Now... onwards!

Summer Camp Island Review: Sea Bunnies / Mushrumours

 

"A tendency towards self-pity. I get that."

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Considering the different sorts of routes Summer Camp Island has taken to spice itself up across its various seasons, it'll be interesting to see how the show, now in its fourth season, is set to hone in on itself. It's not like it has to, really—SCI is effusively charming and knows exactly what it wants to be, all while excelling at its singular visions—but the show's always been intent to expand upon itself, whether through extending its focus to more members of its cast or, as with last season, constructing more pointed arcs surrounding them. Season 4 seems to have reverted back to a strictly episodic feel, so it'll be interesting to see what sort of gains it made from past experimentation and how much SCI will continue to push itself.

To their credit, the first two episodes of the young season, "Sea Bunnies" and "Mushrumours," point towards some changes in approach. While Oscar takes leading positions in both of them, Susie appears mildly in the former and Hedgehog doesn't make any appearances at all. There's something perhaps disquieting about the show's central figures being so absent, but it also makes room for SCI to try at new things, even without a guarantee of complete success. It's a bit of a bumpy start, but an intriguing one all the same.