‘SNL’ Recap: No Audience, No Problem For Paul Rudd, Tina Fey, and Tom Hanks

Happy Omicron to all who celebrate! Too soon?

The Omicron variant of the COVID-19 pandemic may have shut down live entertainment throughout much of New York City again this weekend, but inside 30 Rock, Lorne Michaels kept to his ritualistic mantra of not putting on a new episode of Saturday Night Live because it’s good or ready, but because it’s 11:30 p.m. Eastern on Saturday. At least it appeared as though cooler heads would prevail around Studio 8H this week compared to earlier this spring, when SNL and Michaels flouted city regulations by having live studio audiences — back then bringing in hospital workers and paying them to reclassify them as employees and not audience members. This time around, as rumors swirled about which cast members may or may not have tested positive for COVID, and Cecily Strong wisely wanted none of that since she’s supposed to star this coming Tuesday in an Off-Broadway revival of Lily Tomlin’s The Search For Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. This time, Michaels called off any live audience, cancelled the musical performances by Charli XCX, and allowed most of the cast to stay home.

What remained was an episode of pre-recorded shorts finished earlier in the week, plus repeats of old sketches (some more classic than others), and an opening with Tom Hanks and Tina Fey to welcome Paul Rudd into the Five Timers Club. Sort of. If you didn’t know that NBC already plans to air an SNL Best of Christmas two-hour primetime special on Tuesday, you might’ve thought this could do the trick. Might you be right?

What’s The Deal For The SNL Cold Open For Last Night (12/18/21)?

They really opened cold, no applause since no audience, but the introduction of Tom Hanks, whose name and presence only immediately reminded us of how Hanks caught COVID-19 in Australia in March 2020 and that’s what made us take the pandemic seriously in the first place, and how Hanks introduced the first weird SNL At Home episode, and just really reinforced the whole pandemic thing. Wearing his Five-Timers Club robe, he said he wasn’t about to fly 3,000 miles from California for this gig and not do the gig, and said “Thank you surviving crew members.” Ugh. Bleak. Next we saw Tina Fey, also in Five-Timers robe, who noted this wasn’t the smallest audience to which she had performed, “because I have done improv in a Macy’s.” Steve Martin sent in a pre-recorded gag tribute for Rudd, complete with Martin Short cameo. Kenan Thompson demonstrated not all the cast went home, presenting Rudd with his own robe. And then Rudd introduced the first pre-recorded sketch of the evening.

How Did The SNL Guest Host Paul Rudd Do?

Rudd did manage to film three sketches between Thursday night and Saturday morning, so it wasn’t a total loss on the new comedy content front.

The first pitched Rudd as director Casey HomeGoods, who wants Evelyn and Eileen to know he got the job for this HomeGoods commercial “on merit.” The spot has the two moms (played by Aidy Bryant and Kate McKinnon) telling us what they really want for Christmas, since usually mothers tell their children not to bother with gifts. What do they really want? “Grandchildren.” This hits too close to home? Just everybody? Although they do make a great case, or let Casey make the case for them.

Then Rudd let us know he finished shooting “An Evening With Pete” at 5 a.m. Saturday.

This short starts as an homage to Raging Bull, with Davidson as himself in the year 2054, reduced to a nightclub act regurgitating his SNL hits, sometimes only after the audience insists. SPOILER ALERTS: In 2054, Pete will have removed all of his tattoos, he somehow has a Viola Davis lifetime achievement Academy Award in his possession (congrats Viola!), and his buddy Machine Gun Kelly will be dead and cremated (sorry for your impending loss!). Rudd portrays Pete’s former writing partner, who at first is spurned from the joint, but then, thanks to joints, gets back in Pete’s good graces and reveals that he’s the one who conceived of making Pete an unlikely sex symbol!

Later in the show, Rudd introduced a sketch from one of his earlier hosting gigs on SNL, in which he portrayed Dan Charles, “Adult One Direction Fan.” Rudd also filled us in on how, as a much younger comedy fan, he memorized Steve Martin’s “A Holiday Wish” sketch and recited it in school.

How Relevant Was The Musical Guest Charli XCX?

Too relevant, it turned out.

She did manage to appear in the episode and sing, even, as a bird named T.J. Rocks in a short featuring Kyle Mooney as a kid wanting to buy “The Christmas Socks.” Alas, it will not rock your socks off.

Which Sketch Will We Be Sharing: “Global Warming Christmas Special” and “Now That’s What I Call Christmas”

Look. If it were up to me, we’d all still be talking about the 1990 “Global Warming Christmas Special” sketch, but NBC and SNL have yet to share this somehow even more timely though quite outdated classic from 31 years ago. It’s from when Hanks himself sorta kinda launched the concept of the 5-Timers-Club on Dec. 8, 1990. Anyhow. In one sketch, we’ve got Mike Myers as Carl Sagan warning us about greenhouse gasses and the need to curb our fossil fuel dependency, all while presiding over a Christmas TV special. Hanks played Dean Martin. Victoria Jackson was Sally Struthers back when everyone was mocking her for crying in a charity ad. We’ve got the late Jan Hooks and Phil Hartman as Crystal Gayle and Isaac Asimov dueting on “Silver Bells,” only to have Sagan throw red paint on her because “fur is murder.” Dana Carvey swings by as Paul McCartney, and for a brief moment, you get to see Chris Farley and Julia Sweeney dancing as Dom DeLuise and Petula Clark, respectively.

OK. If we do ever get that sketch on shareable video, we’re all sharing it, yes? And here it is!

If you want a more current under-the-radar celebrity impersonation medley, please enjoy this ditty from Jimmy Fallon and the 2013-2014 cast, which means we get to see John Milhiser as Billie Joe Armstrong and Noël Wells as Zooey Deschanel. Plus Fallon as a bunch of celebs, including the late Alan Rickman, Michael Buble, Harry Styles and Pitbull. Jay Pharoah as the late DMX. Kate McKinnon as Shakira and Lorde. Kyle Mooney as Axl Rose. Bobby Moynihan as Andrea Bocelli. Cecily Strong as Alanis Morissette. Now that’s what they called Christmas in 2013.

Who Stopped By Weekend Update?

Tina Fey did! Reminding us what it’s like when someone brings energy or a point of view to the Update desk, as well as chemistry with Michael Che (only my SNL-heads may remember they previously co-starred in an American Express ad several years back and proved they could riff off one another quite well). Anyhow. They played to an unseen audience of crew, with only Hanks, Rudd and Thompson sitting in the actual audience chairs. At one point, Che tagged a joke about a judge getting fired for saying the N-word by asking: “Why are Kenan and me the only cast members here?”

What Sketch Filled The “10-to-1” Slot?

Instead of a final live weird wackadoodle sketch, the final slot at 12:54 a.m. went to Tina Fey telling a story about how in the 2005 Christmas episode, hosted by Jack Black, the SNL crew whipped up an adorable Santa outfit for Fey’s infant daughter out of a Juicy Couture outfit, all while this TV Funhouse animated short was playing. Play it again, Lorne! It’s “Christmastime for the Jews,” presented by Robert Smigel featuring singing by Darlene Love.

Who Was The Episode’s MVP?

Anyone who stayed safe and hasn’t gotten sick. That means you, too. Stay safe everybody, and let’s meet back here in 2022 for the next SNL episode!

Sean L. McCarthy works the comedy beat for his own digital newspaper, The Comic’s Comic; before that, for actual newspapers. Based in NYC but will travel anywhere for the scoop: Ice cream or news. He also tweets @thecomicscomic and podcasts half-hour episodes with comedians revealing origin stories: The Comic’s Comic Presents Last Things First.

Watch Season 47, Episode 9 of Saturday Night Live on Peacock