Saturday Night Live: 2010-2011

 Saturday Night Live Transcripts


  Season 36: 2010-2011

Starring:

Fred Armisen

Abby Elliott

Bill Hader

Seth Meyers

Bobby Moynihan

Andy Samberg

Jason Sudeikis

Kenan Thompson

Kristen Wiig

Featuring:

Vanessa Bayer

Paul Brittain

Taran Killam

Nasim Pedrad

Jay Pharoah

Writers:

Doug Abeles

James Anderson

Alex Baze

Heather Anne Campbell

Jessica Conrad

Jim Downey

Tom Flanigan

Shelly Gossman

Steve Higgins

Colin Jost

Erik Kenward

Rob Klein

Jonathan Krisel

Seth Meyers

Lorne Michaels

John Mulaney

Christine Nangle

Michael Patrick O’Brien

Paula Pell

Simon Rich

Marika Sawyer

Akiva Schaffer

John Solomon

Kent Sublette

Bryan Tucker

Episodes

09/25/10: Amy Poehler / Katy Perry

10/02/10: Bryan Cranston / Kanye West

10/09/10: Jane Lynch / Bruno Mars

10/23/10: Emma Stone / Kings of Leon

10/30/10: Jon Hamm / Rihanna

11/13/10: Scarlett Johansson / Arcade Fire

11/20/10: Anne Hathaway / Florence and the Machine

12/04/10: Robert DeNiro / Diddy Dirty Money

12/11/10: Paul Rudd / Paul McCartney

12/18/10: Jeff Bridges / Eminem & Lil Wayne

01/08/11: Jim Carrey / The Black Keys

01/15/11: Gwyneth Paltrow / Cee Lo Green

01/29/11: Jesse Eisenberg / Nicki Minaj

02/05/11: Dana Carvey / Linkin Park

02/12/11: Russell Brand / Chris Brown

03/05/11: Miley Cyrus / The Strokes

03/12/11: Zach Galifianakis / Jessie J

04/02/11: Elton John

04/09/11: Helen Mirren / Foo Fighters

05/07/11: Tina Fey / Ellie Goulding

05/14/11: Ed Helms / Paul Simon

05/21/11: Justin Timberlake / Lady Gaga

SummaryIt would be a reasonable argument to suggest that “SNL” became too comfortable generating high ratings through obvious gimmick tactics (the additional mid-week mini-shows which siphoned the quality of the regularly-scheduled shows, or the shameless Facebook campaign on Betty White’s behalf which ultimately revolved more on SNL’s past female cast members than the longtime TV veteran herself). Thankfully, other missteps seemed to have been addressed: Kristen Wiig, who was being overexposed as though the lone female performer in a cast of men, was used more sparingily; Jenny Slate, who immediately alienated viewers by dropping the F-bomb on her first show and made no impact aside from a single recurring character with little growth potential, was let go. However, the most prominent change, which arguably gave the new season a slight edge over the previous one, was the hiring of four new featured performers, the largest group of newcomers on SNL since Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis and Wiig burst on the scene five years earlier. Which is not to say that these new kids — Vanessa Bayer, Taran Killam, Jay Pharoah and Paul Brittain — made quite the same splash as the now-seasoned veterans, but there were moments throughout the season where it felt like they were really trying to make the show their own, providing some of the freshest sketches seen on the show over the last couple of years.

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