Splitsider

Now that Season 36 of SNL has come to a close, it’s time for us to look back upon this season’s 22 episodes and reflect. Reactions have been mixed — critics and audiences finally began to turn on Kristen Wiig’s screen-hogging characters (she officially retired Penelope and Gilly), while others seemed to hold the show accountable for lacking a clear comedic point of view during the midterm disaster. Some berated the show whenever a host wasn’t used enough (Bryan Cranston, Jane Lynch, Ed Helms).

At the same time, there are plenty of reasons to celebrate. For one, the cast right now is fantastic. Bill Murray told Howard Stern last February that the current cast is the best since the first one, and I might have to agree with him. It now boasts at least four legitimate stars (Hader, Samberg, Sudeikis, and Wiig), a more ensemble effort compared to the “Amy Poehler Show” and the “Will Ferrell Show” of previous eras. The show now features the strongest arsenal of characters we’ve seen in years (Stefon, Garth and Kat, Judy Grimes, Anthony Crispino, Herb Welch, Bedilia… not to mention celebrity-characters James Carville, Gov. David Patterson, Nic Cage, Miley Cyrus, and Jimmy MacMillan).

And let’s not forget the writers. Seth Meyers has truly hit his stride both behind the Weekend Update desk and in the writers room, which shares a stronger chemistry with the cast now than in previous seasons. Characters that were previously mere silly voices and gestures are now rounded out with mysterious backstories, specific points of view, and rich details. Notice how much more complete Bill Hader’s Stefon and Andy Samberg’s Nic Cage seem compared to Kristen Wiig’s Target Lady or Fred Armisen’s Larry King (nothing against Wiig or Armisen, of course). With fresh new voices in the writers room like John Mulaney and Simon Rich, many of the sketches have a sharper, more refined points of view.

So with so much to be proud of, I thought it would be nice to recognize a few specific moments from the past season that stood out from all the rest. Here is your Best of SNL Season 36:

Cold Open. This wasn’t a good season for traditionally politically themed cold opens. You can blame Fred Armisen’s unimpressive Obama, but in reality, the midterm elections were such a clusterfuck of emotions — anxiety over unemployment, anger about health care, conspiracies about Obama, that Christine O’Donnell lady… it was hard for comedians to make sense of it all. Jon Stewart’s answer was that rally, which was known for its poignancy more than its humor. SNL’s cold opens were mostly weak, with this notable exception, which cleverly twisted the Julian Assange controversy into Wikileaks: TMZ.

Monologue. While a few hosts flatlined during their opening monologues (Scarlett Johansson, Miley Cyrus, Ed Helms), a few soared to new heights. Hosts who took musical risks saw the biggest rewards: Tina Fey, Dana Carvey, and of course, Justin Timberlake. While it seems like highway robbery to not give it to JT here, I’m a little partial to Zach Galifianakis' hilarious opener.

Political Ad. While CNN and Fox News chose the Christine O’Donnell “I’m Not a Witch” piece for their Sunday morning banter, the strongest mock political ad wasn’t revealed to be one until the very end – an ad proposing the “ground zero mosque” as a Wedding Venue for your gay wedding, and other radically liberal activity.

PSA. SNL was never more relevant this season than during this Message from TSA (at the height of their holiday travel season unpopularity).

Commercial. SNL's long-honored tradition of fake commercials thrived in Season 36, featuring both absurd products and services (a sleep machine that produces “black noise,” a personal injury lawyer for those injured during the Spider-man musical, a photo studio for men taking cell phone pictures of their penises) and, in some cases, pathetic salesmen. My favorite was an infomercial for a product called El Shrinko, in which two self-conscious teenage boys cleverly try to justify their small packages.

Live Sketch. I was amazed by the number of risks the writers room took this season, with live sketches featuring kids on Mr. Wizard getting each other off during a static electricity experiment, a young boy hosting a morning talk show at his breakfast table with the men his mother brought home the night before, and the British royal couple transforming into crass Cockney punks. The most ridiculous, and most fun, however, had to be newcomer Taran Killam’s wordless dance party Les Jeunes De Paris.

Weekend Update Segment. While Weekend Update this season was famous for its characters (Stefon, Garth and Kat, Anthony Crispino), the “I Love It!” segment with writer and comedian John Mulaney provided a sincere tone that was a breath of fresh air in the otherwise cynical world of SNL.