Summer Camp Island Review: Oscar & His Demon / The Emily Ghost Institute for Manners and Magical Etiquette

"Shh!"

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It's been too long since I've written a review of this show! Let's jump right into it with two more Oscar-centric offerings: "Oscar & His Demon" and "The Emily Ghost Institute for Manners and Magical Etiquette.

"Oscar & His Demon" is, to put it plain and simple, the season's first big home run. That's not a strike against the season at all; there's been an appreciably experimental vibe, with SCI trying out different ideas and shifting its priorities around in curious, thoughtful ways. This feels like the first time that curiosity has crystallized into something truly solid, though, and despite the fact that it frames itself in such a unique way, it manages to highlight the show's greatest qualities, fully unhindered by its theoretical sense of restraint.

What's immediately striking about the episode is that it takes place, almost entirely, in silence. It's a risk that a lot of shows have taken, and it makes sense for SCI to take an interest to that concept; for as integral as its dialogue usually is, I've always felt that it was a show that had an astute ear for sound design and low-key visual humor. We've seen drips and drabs of what magic the show can do when it holds its tongue—both "Time Traveling Quick Pants" and "Radio Silence" establish a strong precedent for the success of an episode like this—so I was naturally excited to hear that the show would be, in "Oscar & His Demon," fully committed to the concept. But what makes the episode so great isn't just that it succeeds at that challenge; it uses the opportunity to tell a compelling, meaningful story about Oscar's character.

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.

Saturday Night Live, Ranked and Reviewed: Season 1

"Let us begin. Repeat after me. I would like to feed your fingertips to the wolverines."

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I'm Matt. Few people would know this, and indeed, a part of me hopes that nobody does, but I used to write reviews of SNL as it was airing in 2015/2016. They're all bad and have been lost deliberately to the sands of time, but they served to germinate all of my writing endeavors up to this point, and everything that I've accomplished with this blog. So it feels fair to pay back my dues a bit.

I wasn't actually intending on doing anything like this, but I've been watching the show from the start for the first time and commenting on episodes with some buddies I've made working on the "One SNL a Day 2.0" revival project, and they were so eager to hear my takes that it sort of became a whole, big thing... eventually so big that they suggested I find some way of posting them outside of our private groupchat. So I've decided that I'll compile all of my little write-ups for every season here while adding some fun, extra things! I don't think I'll write these all the way up to the show's current season—I'm not very interested in writing long-form about the seasons I saw as they aired, and I'm already writing about some of the modern seasons per the aforementioned "One SNL a Day 2.0"—but I'm looking forward to covering up to at least Season 30, at which point I'll have seen every episode of SNL ever produced.

Also note: I'm transplanting my write-ups over here with minimal changes, except for assisted clarity. They'll get longer and more comprehensive as time goes on; it's a bit of a slow start, but I think especially by the time we get to the final stretch of this season, my write-ups start to get pretty sweet. Hope you enjoy!

Final Space Review: The Devil's Den

 

"Lightfold."

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(NOTE: Major spoiler alert for this review! Do not read this unless you've seen the episode or are okay with it being ruined for you!)

Gary and his crew stand, immobilized, staring out the window of their ship. They're on the other side of the gate, back in their universe, but it's not a celebratory moment. The fabrics of the universe burst, blinding pink lights shining through the seams, as Invictus stands before them. At a loss for words, all he can say is "My God, what have I done?"

The classic story-telling adage is to always leave them wanting more, and that's certainly a concept that Final Space rides out to the max, especially with its finales. But whereas there has been some assurance in the past that things will be alright, with some persisting glimmer of positivity—the first season was renewed almost immediately, and the second, beyond having something of a happy ending, was renewed pretty quickly thereafter—the startling darkness which Season 3 ends on is compounded by the fear that this could very well be the end of the road.