'SNL UK 'Gets Off to a Promising Start

I had hoped that I could recap SNL UK on Sunday mornings, as I have done SNL for the last 18 or 19 years, but alas, when Peacock says they’ll have SNL UK the following day, they apparently did not mean the next morning but the next evening at 9 p.m. So, Mondays it is!

Cold Open — So, it turns out that the UK cold open is not really any better than the U.S. cold open these days. There’s no Trump, at least, but it’s still about Trump. Here, the UK Prime Minister tries to develop a backbone and stand up to Trump without actually standing up to Trump. “I know how badly you want to start World War III, and that’s great. But we can’t be a part of it. You can, however, use our naval bases whenever you want.” (Score: 4 out of 10)

Tina Fey Monologue — Why is an American hosting the first episode of SNL UK? Don’t worry, Tina Fey answers that question, which comes from Nicola Coughlin, as well as questions from Michael Cera and Graham Norton. It’s certainly not going to be a “classic SNL UK monologue,” except that in the sense it was the first one, but it’s amusing, as Fey introduces Britain to the format and does impressions from a lot of UK TV shows. She’s also wearing a shorts suit for some reason. (Score: 7 out of 10)

Underágé — They’re kicking off the main with a pre-taped ad. Bold. It’s for a skin cream called Underágé, which is so effective that it makes women look so young that everyone thinks their husbands are trying to date underage women. OK. Very good. Unfortunately, there are only a handful of clips available to embed. This one’s not one of them, but it’s worth seeking out on Peacock. (Score: 7.5 out of 10)

The Last Supper — This one not so much. I’m not ready to learn most of the cast members’ names yet (unless they’ve been on Taskmaster), but the guy doing a David Attenborough impression is not good at doing an impression of David Attenborough. He has dinner with some famous British historical figures, and … you know: Sometimes, a British accent can do a lot of work to make something funny. Here, the accent needs to work a lot harder. Why embed this one, Sky? (Score: 4 out of 10)

Boovies Goes to the Films — This one is terrific: There’s a movie journalist doing a typical junket interview: Kissing the actors’ asses, telling them how great they are, and how amazing all their films are, and then it takes a real left turn that’s better seen than spoiled. The swearing on SNL UK is a game changer. Uh, it’s on Peacock — I can’t believe they don’t even have unauthorized copies (yet) on YouTube. (Score: 8 out of 10)

The Budger — You know how, while you’re scrolling on your phone and you’re about to click on something, but the screen moves suddenly and you end up clicking on the wrong thing? The premise of this skit is that there is a team of people who purposely move the screen right before you click to make that happen. Amusing. But not that amusing. (Score: 5.5 out of 10)

Maternity Ward — There’s great energy to this one, even if the skit itself is only mediocre. It’s about a woman giving birth, but the newborn is too “shy” to come out, only he’s not actually “shy,” he’s faking it for attention. A couple of great lines in this one, though. (It’s on Peacock) (Score: 6.5 out of 10)

Weekend Update - Thanks to Taskaster, I do know one of the “Update” hosts: Ania Magliano. The tone is very different from Jost/Che, obviously — feels more old-school ’70s SNL. Not a complaint, mind you. One of the segments is with the only person from the Royal Navy remaining to help in the Strait of Hormuz, Captain Birdsong, who I’m assuming is a mascot for a fish sticks brand. He’s also very Aykroyd-y. It’s a decent debut, and actually much better than the very short clip they provided suggests. (Score: 6.5 out of 10)

William Shakespeare — The premise here is that every time William Shakespeare goes to London, he returns a little bit more Gen Z hipster douchebag. Oh, and Hamnet dies after getting into his ketamine. Very typical of a late show skit on the U.S. SNL: They run one joke into the ground. (Score: 5 out of 10)

The Live Paddington Bear Experience — It’s a live Paddington the Bear experience, only Paddington is a real live bear, and this Paddington likes to eat human hands and tear human flesh. A. Good stuff. (Score: 8 out of 10)

Dressing Room — Tina Fey goes into a dressing room for a bra fitting, but the lady doing the fitting exaggerates her bra size for the people listening outside, and then Regé-Jean Page makes a cameo. Why not? (Score: 6 out of 10)

45 Seconds with the Fouracres — I don’t know how to describe this one except that it’s manic, and I’m not sure I get it, but it’s … interesting? (Score: 5.5 out of 10)

Verdict — Pretty good first show, although it does sort of give me a bigger appreciation for the U.S. version. I know that they prepared for weeks for the first show, and the end result is … an above-average episode. Let’s see how they do with more limited time with which to work. This one’s got good bones, though, and Tina Fey was an excellent first host. The only real stand-out in the cast, so far, however, is Hammed Animashaun. (Overall: 7 out of 10)