Emma Stone
This week on the SNL Hall of Fame podcast we welcome back to the show, the statistical guru of the Saturday Night Network, Mike Murray! He's here on the pod to discuss our third host in a row, this time it's Emma Stone. Get it wherever you get your podcasts.
Transcript:
Track 2:
[0:42] Thank you so much, Doug DeNance. It is great to be back inside the SNL Hall of Fame with you all.
Track 2:
[0:51] Big kudos for you showing up this week. It's been a stormy week here in Toronto where the Hall of Fame is and our guest count has went down.
But I'll tell you what, the floors are a mess. I don't know what kind of message I need to send to you, but wipe those feet, people.
The SNL Hall of Fame podcast is a weekly affair where each episode we take a deep dive into the career of a former cast member, host, musical guest, or writer and add them to the ballot for your consideration.
Once the nominees have been chosen, we turn to you, the listener, to vote for the most deserving and help determine who will be enshrined for perpetuity in the hall.
That's how we play the game. It's just that simple.
All you need to do is listen in for the argument that is being made by our special guest for the week and determine whether or not they make a strong enough case.
From there, you'll get a ballot and you'll get to place your vote.
If a candidate reaches 66.7% of the ballot, they are welcome to join us here in the SNL Hall of Fame.
Did you know that if you're in the Hall of Fame, you get a pass that you can come in for free anytime you want, and we'll even provide you a bottle of water. So there's that.
Track 2:
[2:19] Let's track down my friend Matt for some trivia in Matt's minutiae minute.
Let's see if I can find him here. I'll give him a holler.
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[2:29] Matt how in the world are you doing this week i am good thank you i am good, busy busy but can't complain well you just did.
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[2:42] Well stating a fact isn't necessarily complaining but yeah i was complaining.
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[2:50] Well no one will be complaining about our nominee this week uh emma stone is who you're going to be be talking about learning me up real good here.
What have you got for us this week, Matt?
Emma Stone, height 5'6", born November 6th, 1988, making me feel very old again.
She's accomplished much more in her shorter life than I have in my longer life.
So I found out that her low voice stems from actually having colic as a baby that lasted six months.
So I'm shocked that her parents didn't pull out all of their hair um it developed she developed nodules and calluses on her vocal cords which is how why she has such a distinctive voice she actually has a phobia of being lifted up or being high because uh when she was seven she was doing gymnastics on on the parallel bars and fell and broke both of her arms. Oh my gosh.
Horrible. Yeah. Oh yeah. We need to have a warning at the top of this one, a trigger warning.
Yeah. Trigger warning for anybody who's afraid of gymnastics.
Yeah. She grew up blonde. Judd Aptow suggested for she go red for super bad.
And she real, after doing that, she found that she was called back much more for auditions. So she just stayed a redhead.
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[4:16] Originally named emily stone she changed to emma as there was already an actor named emily stone registered with sag and it happens amazingly a lot um a lot of actors uh go by three names or or a slightly different name um she actually prefers emily over emma so that's how she would would prefer to be called um but she took the name emma from a member of her favorite band the spice girls oh baby yeah she is she is a baby spice fan me too that was my favorite yeah there's actually pictures of her on the internet meeting them losing her mind like tears fanning out it's uh it's very endearing now she knew at an early age she wanted to be a film star and convinced her parents to move to Hollywood by putting together a PowerPoint presentation named Project Hollywood.
She lists her heroes as Gilda Radner, Diane Keaton, and Marianne.
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[5:22] Cotillard. But yeah, she's been dreaming of being on SNL since she was a kid.
So having been a host multiple times now, she got that dream.
Since that PowerPoint presentation, she went on to be an actress in 57 films, produced 11 films, and has four soundtrack credits.
She has been in five Oscar-nominated films and herself has been nominated for four Oscars, five BAFTAs, seven Golden Globes, six SAG Awards, and many more.
She is one of only eight actresses to win an Oscar for a musical, the others being Rita Moreno, Julie Andrews, Barbara Streisand, Liza Minnelli, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jennifer Hudson, and Anne Hathaway.
Before she initiated Project Hollywood, she was developing websites and learned HTML at the age of 14, launching her own webzine called Neptune, which pulled on her love of journalism.
She dreams of being a Jeopardy contestant to this day, and she deleted her Facebook.
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[6:26] Not because of harassment, which is a delightful change given the way the internet is, but because she was addicted to Farmville. Oh my gosh.
She is a true nerd. She even got to turn her theater nerddom into real-life Broadway credentials, taking over for Michelle Williams as Sally Bowles from 2014 to 2015 in a Broadway production of Cabaret.
So yeah, Emma Stone, honestly one of my favorite Hollywood stars.
I'm looking forward to hearing all about her. She is a great host, but is she a Hall of Fame host?
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[7:06] Let's take it down to Thomas now with Mike Murray.
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[7:40] Alright, JD and Matt, thank you so much for that valuable information.
You guys are, I'm telling you guys, you guys are kicking so much ass on Matt's Minutia Minute this year. It's been really enjoyable to listen to.
Definitely appreciate that. So welcome to another edition of the SNL Hall of Fame. Welcome to our chat.
Today's nominee is the one, the only five-timer, newly minted five-timer, Emma Stone.
We're re-litigating or re-examining Emma Stone's case, her candidacy.
She's been on the ballot since Season 1. So I'm excited to get into Emma Stone, get into her candidacy, why she may not already be in the SNL Hall of Fame.
And to do that with me, to break down Emma Stone today, I have a great guest, a first-timer. I guess technically he's been on a roundtable, but he's first time for being a guest on an actual, like an episode, like a nominee episode.
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[8:35] So please welcome from SNL by the numbers on the Saturday Night Network, I have Mike Murray joining me today. Mike, how's it going, man?
Good, Thomas. Good to see you. Two nights in a row. You were on my pod just last night and we're doing this again.
I'm so happy to be here with you. I love these home and homes and I had such a good time.
So we recorded, I did SNL by the numbers after the Shane Gillis episode, which was such a fascinating episode going in.
It ended up being a fascinating episode to talk about. I love being on your pod, man. We get to dissect numbers.
We get to talk different facets of the episodes and the season in general.
So I love when I get asked on your pod.
It's always a good time. Oh, thanks. You're such a great guest.
And if you haven't checked it out, it's just truly the sports talk radio of SNL. And so Thomas is a perfect guest for it.
Perfect. Bill Kenney was also with us.
So that's like quite the trio right there. That was a good time.
Yeah, we could do our own weekly show, the three of us.
Absolutely. No kidding. So yeah. So can you maybe elaborate like what's been going on in SNL by the numbers?
How's just the pod going? Tell everybody about the pod a little bit.
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[9:45] Sure. I mean, it's quite the passion project for me.
I've been doing this since 2018, but since the SNN, the Saturday Night Network started up, I've been doing it, the stats weekly.
So what I do is I record the screen time for every individual that appears on the show.
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[10:04] I put that into what I call the SNL supercomputer and just have spreadsheets on spreadsheets and try to just dissect and i say demystify the show because it's been going on now 49 strong seasons or 49 seasons strong whatever way you want to put it and i just try to figure out what their process is and who is who is doing better than the other person and who's leading in every single category cold opens monologue sketches update everything like that and what i do is take pick every piece of data and put it into an algorithm. And I call it the power rankings.
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[10:42] And so week to week on the show, Wednesdays, 8pm Eastern, following a live show, we've run down that episode and do an update on how everyone's performing that week.
So it's called SNL by the numbers on the SNN.
That's so awesome. You're catering to, I think, how so many fans watch SNL I think I don't know if it's a cliche at this point but I found I basically found my tribe a few years ago because I've always watched SNL like it's a sport like I follow baseball basketball football hockey and SNL like those are my sports so just to find someone who also follows it like a sport find a whole community that follows SNL like a sport then we now we have stats to go with that like that you're catering to not just me but so many people out there Mike And you would think that's such a niche group, but...
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[11:35] Truly, it's a live sport. Anything can happen, and that's why I love it so much.
Yeah, we have a wonderful community here of SNL nerds that just love your podcast. SNL by the numbers.
Go check that out. Mike, I want to talk to you from the perspective.
You're the stats guy, but I want to know a little bit about Mike Murray, the SNL fan.
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[11:59] Let us know, what's your origin story of being an SNL fan? man.
When did you start watching? Any particular cast that you love?
Sure. I feel like a lot of SNL fans, it was passed down lineage-wise from my parents who were constantly quoting the show.
And I had no idea what they were quoting. Chopping Broccoli, Wayne's World, all that kind of stuff.
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[12:23] So I feel like I started watching in the early 2000s.
My earliest memory was actually a vhs tape that my dad had because he was a huge aerosmith fan and he was actually in an aerosmith tribute band and a friend of his who recorded snl like weekly on vhs he took his tape and copied it because aerosmith was in that wayne's world sketch and so i had had that episode so i watched that episode in the vcr and just really got into the the show and was just fascinated by the fact that it changes every season so it wasn't like this kind of serialized thing where you had to catch up on it you could just pop in and watch it and so probably the first cast was like the that i really watched week to week was like the fallon and um maya rachel like that era and i've watched it ever since my high school cast was was the Sudeikis-Sandberg-Wig era, which is, I think, a golden age.
And now it's literally an obsession and a full-time job.
Yeah, that's similar to a lot of our origin stories. You're exactly right.
Then keeping the stats, how did that develop?
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[13:40] That just came from a fascination of that ever-changing, ever-growing cast.
So I used to just pen and paper when I saw someone just tally it.
I've heard other people have done that too.
And then I was thinking, I'm so into stats, so into sports.
And like you mentioned, Thomas, that it does feel like that competitive edge to it that even if cast members don't want to admit it, it really is vying for screen time.
So i thought like well what would it look like if i timed it so at first it was very elementary very rudimentary just counting and i would memorize the cast every year and all time, and then i just started going like well how do i how do i parlay this into something interesting that's just not raw data so i went from there and took the appearances and the screen time and try how to just meld them together so that's kind of how it all started to be and then with the podcast and then with a lot of fan interaction from the great community it just really snowballed yeah, you and you've so you've obviously watched a lot of snl you've seen a lot of great hosts the one that you mentioned the aerosmith i believe tom hanks was the host right siblings siblings yeah so tom hanks was in that wayne's world sketch yeah so you've seen a lot of great hosts in your your day.
So what do you look for in a great SNL host, Mike?
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[15:04] It's such a great question because I think that there's so many qualities that make a good host and not a lot of them, even the greats, can possibly possess all of them.
But number one, elevate the material.
They're at the mercy of the writer's room. So you're not always going to get the greatest host to have the best material and vice versa you could have a not so great host and great material so that's number one and then i would say bring something to the show that i can't just get from cast number x so some edge that they can bring that oh i'm glad the host wasn't doing that was doing that and not just kate mckinnon or will ferrell or somebody who's like the star of the show and then something that's important and we're talking about emma stone tonight is just at least important to me as a super fan is have a reverence or understanding of the show and like when the host doesn't just play themselves but bring some of their personality with it too yeah I love that and we will see that's a theme with Emma.
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[16:10] Right off the bat, we know that she's a big fan of the show.
She does revere the show.
She grew up watching the show. So right away, we as fans, it's endearing for us to see someone like Emma Stone on screen.
So I think those are all great things to look for in a great SNL host.
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[16:29] So today we're re-examining Emma Stone's candidacy because she's been on the ballot since season one.
And her voting track record it's kind of interesting to me uh season one 10.3 percent of the vote and season two emma got 11.7 percent up in season three to 15.5 percent then we saw quite the jump last season season four 32 percent of the vote so we've seen her climb a little bit so she's making some progress but i'm curious like why do you think emma has maybe slipped through the cracks a little bit in terms of her place among other great snl hosts well first of all i don't think there is a female host in the hall of fame yet so i'm hoping that that gives her a little bit of an edge candace bergen still waiting yep and i was on the round table talking about candace uh with you recently so i think maybe the recency might play against her at the the moment because thinking about your show and how many titans of snl have to get in so maybe a more recent host is like well they'll get their time so now that she's been on the ballot for four years i think people are starting to realize like we don't want to miss our chance and we got to get emma in there yeah do you think that uh that jump from 15.5 percent in season three to 32 percent in season four.
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[17:57] I mean that that vote happened almost right after.
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[18:00] She hosted for a fifth time do you think that jump can be credited attributed to maybe like her hosting like like she was maybe.
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[18:09] Fresh in people's mind so like that was recency bias like that possibly worked for her in a weird way oh 100 because there's no greater honor for a host than to be in the five-timers club and get to get that jacket, so once you hit that threshold, that 3,000 hits or that many wins, whatever sport you want to call it, touchdown record.
So you have that resume.
I almost feel like it's not a prerequisite.
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[18:39] If you're in the five-timers club, there's an argument to be made.
Yeah, I think so. I think you're right. It does solidify a host.
I wouldn't say it's arbitrary, but it is. I think I love that we do watch this like sports.
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[18:53] So if you think of 3,000 hits, that's a little arbitrary.
What's the difference between that and 2,999 hits, right?
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[19:03] Not too much, but it's that visual. it's that like it's something that's tangible that you can point to and say that's like the line and at snl we've decided a five-timer that that's kind of the.
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[19:15] The line where where you start getting a lot of recognition so yeah i could see uh that jump being attributed to that uh for sure and she's definitely a host that deserved it's like her five-timer that was inevitable that was and only 24 members so we're not talking about right you're right a long list that everyone one makes it into eventually yeah you got to stay relevant for a long time and be a friend of the show and perform to even get that opportunity at three four let alone five so she's just just this past december became the 24th member of that club and only the and uh only the sixth woman to join the club yeah that that's a that's a good point so it is like an exclusive club like the 3000 hit club yeah 500 home runs and things like that so emma's first episode was october 23rd 2010 that was in season 36 early on in season 36 emma stone a first timer she had already been in some stuff she was in super bad uh she was out um promoting things her career had had jump started probably two or three years uh of being relevant uh in hollywood uh around that time so her first episode Mike I want to throw it to you like what do you want to start with as far as what stuck out in Emma's first hosting gig.
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[20:34] Well, first of all, Superbad, one of my favorite films, and the first R-rated movie I ever saw in theaters.
Really? I have a special place for Superbad and Emma for that reason.
So yeah, October 2010, two weeks before she turned 22.
So she was a young host, 35th youngest host all time, 23rd youngest female host all time.
And that's to this date, not even just back in 2010. and that episode you know if you watch it now you see the makings of a great host but she really played the straight role or a secondary character in a lot of those sketches but it's something about emma stone when she's so facially expressive and is a great team player and like we mentioned reveres the show and just i think understands what any type of role she she could do um we We mentioned Superbad, so that monologue, Taron Killam, Bobby Moynihan playing Michael Cera and Jonah Hill was great.
And then she was in a digital short, the I Broke My Arm, which I forgot all about until I rewatched.
And then, of course, I have to mention, which is like, I feel like a pivotal moment in my, I was 2010, so I'm a senior in high school, and something about the Le Jeune de Paris just really got me because it felt like an old-school SNL sketch.
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[21:58] It's not in English, first of all, and there's very little dialogue.
So it's all these sight gags and a lot of movement because they're dancing, and her and Taryn just had this great chemistry.
So that's the one that if I had to mention anything from the first show, it's definitely Lejeune de Perry. Excusez-moi, mademoiselle.
Vous voulez jeter ça à la presse et moi?
Track 4:
[22:23] That was a great one.
That was probably the first thing she did on the show, to me, too, that really stood out.
And you're right, I never thought about it. But now that I'm thinking about how something like that could fit in other eras, I could see Mike Myers and Jan Hooks playing those roles or something like that.
Yeah, this would go well in any era. And I think Emma really brought fun energy to this. And she really matched Taryn Killam the entire way with the dancing, with her French accent.
My French teacher wife, I've shown her this sketch and she's like, those are pretty good accents.
She laughed because Taryn just kept talking about grapefruits at the beginning of the pamplemousse. That's a fun word to say.
Grapefruit. And so my French teacher wife was laughing. She's like, yeah.
She's like, Emma actually has a pretty good accent in this. So like bonus points.
But it seemed like, yeah, Emma's just really having a lot of fun, playing really well at the cast.
I think, Mike, you're right. A sketch like this really showed that this was a host that loves the show and really came to play.
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[23:30] Absolutely. And just if you're going to see an episode with Emma, where she is, like I mentioned, just kind of on the team, just on the bench, ready to do anything.
It's that because when she had her moments, she sees them completely.
And I mentioned that digital short.
And, you know, she had some minor parts. She played, did an impression of Lindsay Lohan on The View and was with Nassim Pedrad's My Brother's Bedroom talk show, did a 10 to 1 with Keenan. And so a lot of them were just kind of that second role.
Actually, her first appearance, she post monologue was just completely playing straight for like the dream home makeover.
Hello. Yes, I'm looking for Miss Lita Mill Douglas. I'm her.
Well, we are here to say that you have won Dream House Extremes $2 million homemaker. You won. You're on TV.
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[24:31] Wow okay wow okay wow yeah and kristin wig is you know chewing scenery and being kristin and emma just had to be very deadpan and so for her to go with that then to the digital short and then to have this like high energy dance number it's like what you know this for a first time you know debut on snl like really kind of covered a lot of ground yeah it's it's interesting too because I think there's almost a catch-22 or weird thing that happens sometimes when you have a really good host especially like a really good first-time host is that they're so willing to play with the cast and there's they understand sketch comedy so well that they don't always have to be front and center so someone like Emma Stone understands the comedy behind this she loves the the show.
So she's willing to play the straight person or willing to, to be part of the ensemble or side character.
And then it might seem on the surface, like she didn't contribute to the show, but she did in a way that somebody who loves the show and who's a good sketch performer would contribute to the show.
Like they didn't have to tailor the whole episode around Emma Stone.
Is that something you picked up on here?
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[25:45] Oh, absolutely. Because it's sometimes, I mean, SNL fans appreciate a utility player, more than maybe the casual who wants to see a celebrity in like a funny wig and costume doing an accent or something like that, because it's more of a easier laugh.
So I like what you said about how that it's more of a contributing to the entire sketch rather than being the spotlight on you.
And of course, we're going to see plenty more of that in our next four shows.
Yeah, that seems to be a theme of her hosting gigs. There was one sketch in this first episode in particular where I thought that maybe I wish Emma had more to do in this in this bizarre sketch in particular.
And it was that sex ed, the sex ed Vincent sex symposium sketch with Paul Britton.
Like that was a great Paul Britton showcase.
And Emma had a little bit to do. Day three is devoted to fantasy roleplay scenarios, including sexy hospital, sexy insurance scam and sexy robbery. So on the floor, lady.
Oh, great. Well, do whatever you want with me. Just don't shoot my brains out.
See, now what's she going to do? She starts thinking to herself, what are you going to do?
We could polish that apple between our butt cheeks.
Without letting it hit the floor? Yeah, I don't know. Is that kinky or is that weird? You tell me, is it? Who's to say? Exactly.
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[27:04] Who's to say? But I think that's something where Emma and Paul Britton could have teamed up and really made it this weird thing that Emma could have contributed to it more.
So that's an example of something to where maybe I thought Emma was underutilized.
Even though she does know her role in a lot of these sketches, I really think that she could have even been used a little more effectively.
That sketch in particular sticks out to me.
Yeah, I mean, it's what we remember Paul Britton for, if at all, is sex ed. And that was a pre-tape heavy first episode that she had.
And yeah, just was kind of, if you don't remember that sketch, she just played this role play burglar.
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[27:52] That was kind of it so it was really only a few seconds or maybe like 40 seconds of screen time in that yeah so maybe not an all-timer of an episode uh on the surface but to me emma really stood out as someone who clearly loved the show she was excited to take part in whatever goofy thing they threw her away and mike it was easy to see to me why they wanted to have her back like this was the first time host and i know what you see in first time hosts but i think us as SNL fans we know it when we see it as far as like oh yeah this person needs to come back this we're in the middle of season 49 and I think uh Io she was a great host first I was just thinking of Io yeah exactly same energy where it just was again on on the team just game for anything and that's all you can ask because I mean think about SNL it's very established institution very talented talented people.
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[28:51] You got Lorne running the ship and you bring in massive egos constantly.
So to have a young, almost 22 Emma Stone or just a few weeks ago, Iowa Debris coming in and they're still young and trying to prove themselves.
So they weren't doing maybe the biggest things, but we're just down to have a funny show and have a quality show.
Yeah i have a feeling if iowa debory comes back and hosts again it's gonna be a better show i think she's gonna have more to do just like uh for sure we saw we saw emma having a little more to do so it didn't take emma long to come back obviously the show was excited to have her back so season 37 a year later emma stone's back in november of 2011 i think a lot more to do a lot more Emma Stone featurey type of things.
They did a Le Jeune de Paris part two. What did you think of that?
First of all, what did you think of the that they brought this sketch back?
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[29:53] Well, it's one of the biggest compliments you can get is a sketch was so successful or at least popular enough with the fan base to inspire a second coming of it.
You know, they did do it again with other hosts.
But when I think of that sketch, I think of only Emma. I think they did with Miley as well.
But they did that and a year later did it again.
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[30:15] So I think seeing that a second time just kind of solidifies it in my memory.
But I still always imagine that first song that they played in the original one.
Oh, no. Yeah. The first song to me is like the song and canon of these sketches.
I've put that song on playlists before.
It's a good song. You know, it got me to delve more into French pop.
That and was it Moonlight Kingdom, the movie by Wes Anderson?
Yep. Those two things kind of made me delve more into French pop.
Pop so uh so les jeunes de paris did that i like that this wasn't just a rehash of the first one too like they built on the last one created a whole narrative like you mentioned with a different song but like the characters emma and taryn's characters they were getting married a bunch of french things appeared on yeah they really went head first into uh fred armisen being like napoleon napoleon yeah andy sandberg coming in at the button as like quasimodo they just threw the the kitchen sink of all French things that Americans would think of.
The damn Tour de France went through the set. Yeah.
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[31:25] Literally, yep. Gosh, yeah, that was great. So I think that was a successful part two, La Jeune de Paris.
She has her own recurring sketch. And even though Taryn did this with other people, I think I associate this sketch with Emma and Taryn more so.
There was a, and this is, you know, as we go along, we'll get into more Emma-focused things.
And I think this, what I'm about to talk about is an example of something Emma-focused.
And it was a very weird character named Wallace.
At the bridal shower. I had almost, sometimes this sketch slips through the cracks, but it's really, to me it shows Emma being willing to play weird.
She's going to throw on an ugly wig, kind of play this very bizarre, weird, socially inept character.
She doesn't need to be, you know, look great in the sketch and be front and center, and she doesn't mind.
She's like the type of host that doesn't mind getting weird.
And this bridal shower gift sketch is like a great example to me.
All right, okay, next one.
Feels like another video.
Twink Summer.
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[32:37] Gay boy toys from all around the world. Get it? It's a sex movie.
It's like hers. Okay, I think I did wrong again.
What's the movie? I don't understand. Oh, no, it's nothing, Mom.
Is twinks summer, ma'am? It's 90 minutes, 100 twinks, one unforgettable summer.
Wallace, Wallace, Wallace.
Yeah, that's my big highlight from Emma episode two was Wallace because I think that's where her SNL star was born, was in that sketch.
And just leaning into character work and like you said, not trying to just be...
The you know young attractive actress but like no i'm down for anything like make me as like weird and awkward and creepy as possible because it really was just an all-female ensemble.
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[33:29] Bridal shower and you know she's giving the the lubricant and the bringing in fred harmison as this like you know really weird prostitute and just that was definitely the um, the sign of things to come was that sketch.
So I'm glad you mentioned that because I wouldn't have let you go past this episode without mentioning Wallace.
Oh, no, it was great. Wallace is great, and she's not understanding the vibe of the party.
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[33:57] And she's maybe feeling embarrassed, but she still wants to contribute in the way that she had planned.
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[34:03] But still has some heart to it, some likability.
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[34:08] Yeah, right. And even some, like, a little bit of relatability, a little fish out of water, just like somebody who doesn't really get the vibe trying to fit in maybe a little bit like alan in the hangover like just that's true he's like i'm i know i'm happy to be here but i don't know the rules that's a really good comparison to alan in the hangover i like that so yeah so we've seen especially gosh season 49 that's been uh there's been a handful of them it seems like that uh snl can rely on the host is hot types of motifs and sketches uh as we're recording this sydney sweeney's episode is coming up so i'm kind of crossed my fingers and hoping that they're not leaning into that with her too much but i'm glad that emma is not leaning into that especially right here yeah i mean we saw that with the jacob belordi and you know jason momoa taking his shirt off and you know it's fine once in a while but don't base the episode around it but you know we we don't want to see emma stone you know on a a poster being hot you know it's not what we want to see right yeah right yeah she's she could play hot she could play weird that's why she's like such a great versatile host so um is there anything else from um episode number two that um maybe stood out to you well maybe i and i think this is maybe a running thread that we'll get to but all of her monologues are like super strong and And very fun, well-paced.
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[35:35] And so this was, she's promoting the amazing Spider-Man.
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[35:38] And Andy Samberg comes down from the ceiling as Spider-Man, auditioning for the role, which of course was already cast with Andrew Garfield, who then pops into it.
But it was just kind of a moment where she really vibed with that era of the cast, of the show with that cast. And so we're going to see, you know, go forward till just a few months ago with this era.
But seeing Emma Stone and Andy Samberg felt very like this works.
Track 4:
[36:12] I love when SNL calls back older SNL stuff, but he was basically doing Horatio that did this, I think, with Kirsten Dunst. Yeah, and they referenced that.
Are you trying to remake this monologue? And Andy Samberg says, well, aren't you just remaking that same movie? Yeah, touche. Yes.
Track 4:
[36:35] She comes off as very likable in the monologues. again uh that first monologue we she said right away that like this is a dream come true she was a fan growing up so i think monologue is really important for a host and you're right she showed out well in this monologue uh definitely uh speaking of andy this isn't a highlight for me but just a little tidbit is that emma and it's not her fault but she probably has the privilege of being in maybe the worst lonely island digital digital short of all time i wish wish it would rain oh gosh that's like an infant i think that's an infamous lonely island, it's pretty bad and i love lonely on their snl hall of famers but emma to no fault of her own was in a memorably bad lonely island unless you love this one mike no i i i wasn't gonna mention it yeah it's uh one of the one of the few because lonely island uh for better or worse has no no trouble letting you know exactly what the joke is.
And with that one, we did not know what the joke was. Oh, my God.
Yeah, you're just watching. Where is all this coming from?
And Emma plays a character with just like an abnormally big butt.
It was just, yeah, it was very weird.
Track 4:
[37:50] Again, not Emma's fault, but it is a distinction that she has coming from this episode.
But she's right. She plays well with the cast.
And we will see that going forward with different eras of the cast. Andy in the monologue.
She took part in a Kristen Wiig showcase, the secret word sketch, which truth be told, I didn't always love these sketches.
But Emma in this particular one made it entertaining for me.
Back over to charlene's team i'm gonna give a receipt actually lyle i'm gonna let my friend mr pickles give the clues since he was such good luck to me during my talent portion of miss america right mr pickles right miss charlene he's british.
Track 4:
[38:39] This is good fun 10 seconds on the clock the secret word is cloud okay go ahead mr pickles Because, okay, this is why it floats in the sky. A plane?
Track 4:
[38:54] No, it's Poppy and I. So she took a sketch, a recurring sketch that I was never, I always had mixed feelings and usually negative feelings about.
And Emma made the secret word sketch watchable to me. She played Miss America from Georgia.
And she did some really weird ventriloquist stuff during the secret word.
So she actually made a recurring sketch that I don't love, like entertaining.
And that's a mark of a good host for me.
And I think SNL might use recurring sketches where the host is secondary as kind of a crutch for a weaker host.
So I'm glad you mentioned that. She really made the sketch better because especially that's not a sketch that you are too fond of.
Because they also did Herb Welch with Bill Hader, which I do love.
I do, yeah. And so they put her in that as well.
And she she was great and uh my last thing for that episode was they did a like office sketch with um listening to someone like you by adele yes where i mentioned that emma is so great like facial acting and it was a lot of just react you know cuts to reactions of the women and then like you know the men come in they show bobby outside as the window washer everyone just sobbing to someone like you so it's what just a classic snl sketch of like here's the joke we're gonna do it it again, but we're trying to escalate it every time.
Emma's so good at ugly crying in that sketch, just like everybody else.
Track 4:
[40:21] One more weird one. This was a pretty good episode, and I think Emma had a lot to do with it.
Again, with Andy, we're going to make technology hump.
I've always had a soft spot for this sketch.
He did it with Zooey Deschanel was in another rendition of this sketch at one point, too. But.
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[40:42] Emma played this perfectly as just this really enthusiastic, upbeat person presenting this weird material.
But it's not weird to she or Andy. They're just like, hey, we're just going to make technology hump.
And I love when they got listener feedback or viewer feedback.
Hey, we've got some viewer email. Ryan from Sacramento says, we don't want your dumbass soap opera scene.
Just show clean, close-up shots of tech humping. call me a hopeless romantic but this lady needs a little dialogue before the action i hear that line was perfect and that's a sketch that i might not pull up and show a friend who doesn't not familiar with snl and when i re-watched that one that like really brought me back in time because i don't think i had seen it since it aired live it's the last piece of the night exactly and when i watched it i was like wow i remember watching this at you know 12 53 a.m um back in 2011 and that sketch with another host might have been too weird and inappropriate but like you said andy and emma were selling it like no this is fine this is okay so jason sudeikis as an xbox controller you know it worked yeah it definitely worked there was a digital camera involved and then at a certain point like the zoom went out and it was very creative way to make these these pieces of technology. Props to the props. Yeah, absolutely.
Track 4:
[42:10] And yeah, Zooey Deschanel was in one of these. And I think Emma probably sold it a little better than Zooey, to her credit.
So this is always one perfect 10 to 1 type of thing that Emma was just totally up for. A very weird thing that Emma was up for.
So I feel like Emma, you know, we saw in this second episode, somewhat confined to the era with being in some recurring sketches, an unfortunate digital short.
But she's a great host and I think that that shines through again so we're like two for two as far as Emma just showing us like what a what a fun presence she is on SNL absolutely I mean I'm sure at the end of this episode I might have to make a big case but it's again it's somebody who gets the show shows up and performs so two for two in my opinion I agree yeah absolutely and then it took Took her a few years, like about five years before she was back in December of 2016.
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[43:08] Season 42, which I think history is going to look at.
Season 42 is a great season of SNL. Just a lot of really, really great episodes.
Some great hosts that season. Emma really stood out. This was a fun thing.
And Emma, so we had mentioned good monologues. And it must have been a thrill for her as a fan. She got to do a backstage monologue.
Track 4:
[43:33] In this episode i love backstage monologues me too they're my favorite that's the monologue to to mention because and that was when you saw especially with some time had passed so like thomas said you know she hosted the first time she's not even 22 yet she comes back a year later and then in the meantime as a dramatic actress is like doing great things so when she comes back it feels definitely like this is a celebrity now this is not just a young up-and-comer and so for her to she mentions that snl was like my high school and it's funny because she went to high school with ad bryant albeit for a short time um in phoenix uh because she um emma's from scottsdale and uh her and ad bryant are on the same age and went to the same high school together ad bryant makes a joke like what uh emma you know you went off and did acting and went to hollywood and emma says well what have you been up there he's like well i just i did high school yeah So I love that.
You see the classic backstage SNL and all the things we love to see.
And I just love that. And we see Leslie and Kyle making out and Keenan smoking backstage.
Track 4:
[44:50] There's a monologue to watch of Emma. It's that one. And that was very much of like, okay, Emma Stone is now in the club of SNL for sure.
There's no doubt anymore so if she never came back there's still an argument that she has made her footprint on the show but of course we saw more later yeah fantastic monologue good bit with rekindling her fling with bobby moynihan good callback they treated it like a dramatic like high school sort of movie that was great uh bobby wearing a snl letterman right yeah bobby's this this like too cool for school, jock with a letterman jacket that that breakfast club don't you forget about me exactly yeah, Yeah, great monologue. I urge people to go check it out. First sketch after the monologue, this theater showcase.
I love these theater showcase sketches.
And Emma, she played such a great, well-meaning, but misguided high school theater student.
That's what these sketches are about. And Emma, along with the entire cast, this is a fun ensemble piece with Emma and I think probably Kate.
But pretty much Emma leading the way.
Man, I love these. And Emma was so good at this.
Track 4:
[46:14] And scene. Excuse me, ma'am. Could you understand that? Uh, no.
Is it because we were speaking Mandarin? Yes. And you only know English? Yes.
Sad.
That the theater showcase and they did a few of them i think this might have been the last one they did is the most emblematic of that era so i don't meet many snl fans who like don't like this era but this is one that if you're into this sketch you're probably into that era and emma stone for sure was like one of the guys because at the end of the day they're all a bunch of like like, theater nerds living out their dream.
So we get to see them playing younger versions of themselves, being, like, social justice warriors and doing...
Track 4:
[47:09] Theater showcase and i loved like the the transitions with the prop movement and that music and just the bewildered crowd yeah just perfect yeah vanette was it vanessa was this one vanessa and keenan and yeah it was vanessa and keenan in the crowd just uh perfect the show was dedicated to um the the native americans at standing rock let's get them the pipeline that they want want i love that i just every beat to this sketch is just fantastic or they all kiss and they say black lives matter and they say i i think they just wanted a reason yes that was their black lives matter scene yeah yeah the this is one of a really great recurring sketch that i think you're right snl fans uh love i think sometimes it gets forgotten but you re-watch and okay these are really great and emma just did a great job um with leading this uh and i'll mention that that they did i think have a lot of musical theater moments in this era that didn't hit and so this one did for me a lot so yeah they could bring the sketch sketch back next week and i'd be like super pumped to see it again absolutely they should snl 50 this would be like a good Good type of scene maybe for SNL 50. I don't know.
Yeah. And just because it's all just vignettes. Exactly. Exactly.
Is there anything else in this episode, like something else that hit for you?
Track 4:
[48:36] Well, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention what I was calling forward to, which is the poster sketch, which is Emma's most prolific character.
She did Chrissy Knox in her third, fourth, and fifth episode.
So I have to shout it out now because usually the first iteration is the best.
So Emma Stone being on Pete Davidson's wall as a poster, talking about her fat, shiny hot dog was really, I think, a big moment in her SNL career because it did launch that character.
Yeah, but algebra's crazy, though. Solve for X? X is a freaking letter.
It's a variable. X is what you don't know.
Yeah, so if I eat this entire fat, gross hot dog and mustard plops all over my shirt, what does X equal?
What? That's not a math problem. Yeah.
Track 4:
[49:35] A host having a recurring character, a recurring sketch, is like a good feather in the cap.
We saw what Tom Hanks had, a few of them. He had Mr. Short-Term Memory.
He had the comedians, I think, that he did, who talked basically like Jerry Seinfeld.
He had that. Alec Baldwin had Tony Bennett.
He had some stuff like that. so I think you know it's a feather in the cap for a host to have recurring sketch recurring character Chrissy Knox here with the poster one uh the voice that she uses might be a little much for me sometimes like I think maybe she could have toned it down a little bit and I might have enjoyed it better but I do I do think the premise is solid and it just seems like Emma is just committing to it super well and having a lot of fun.
This is something that she's just willing to do.
I could just tell that she loves being on SNL and it shines through in the poster sketches.
Track 4:
[50:38] I think that's what's likable about it, too, is that Emma Stone, especially at this point in her career, was a well-respected actress.
And this was in 2016. So we're right a few months before she wins her first Oscar for La La Land.
And we never saw her play these very one-dimensional roles.
So I think she, like you said, was just having a blast being this character and just leaning into it like super hard yeah when we of course again yeah this is the the first of of three consecutive poster sketches that she would do in her episodes and one of my small complaints i just want a little nitpick i guess of some of emma's episodes is that maybe the writers in the show don't quite utilize her but there's a writer that utilized her in a couple of sketches the The first one being in this episode, Julio Torres utilized Emma Stone perfectly.
Julio, a candidate in SNL Hall of Fame candidate for this season. Absolutely.
Great rider. He utilized Emma so well.
Wells for Boys is in this episode. Classic error from this sketch, Mike. I'm sure that you enjoyed this sketch.
Track 4:
[51:56] So much. It's a sketch I could watch every month and still enjoy.
And again, it was a premise pre-tape. It wasn't a character pre-tape.
But Emma Stone has a moment where she just yells at this child.
That thing's weird. I don't get it. That's because it's not for you.
Because you have everything.
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[52:17] Everything is for you. And this one thing is for him.
Wells for Boys by Fisher Price. And just really just completely takes the level down to this little boy, just to really just chew him out as off in the background.
Track 4:
[52:35] There's the young sad boy at the well.
So Wells for Boys should be definitely top 10 maybe of that era.
And Julio Torres is just, that's his style all the way.
Track 4:
[52:48] And so Emma Stone is just a great pre-tape actress for SNL. and that was a good example of it.
I'm sure Julio was excited that he had this idea.
He and his writing partner, Jeremy, had this idea for Wells for Boys and I'm sure they were excited to have a great host like Emma to carry something like this.
They didn't have to rely on a cast member and perhaps maybe the host wasn't even in the sketch or they shoehorned the host in to do something else and had a cast member play the lead.
They had Emma and this was this was perfect she had like such a great understanding of playing like the protective mom the understanding mom all of that so I bet you know Julio I don't know if he saved it for the right host or if it was just his luck that Emma was was hosting that week but it but she couldn't there couldn't have been a better host probably you know a great host could could do something like this she did julio's writing justice i think yeah well said perfect is there anything else from from this episode there was some like here and there i think we hit probably the main things yeah i mean i'll give a slight shout out to the nativity sketch she plays mary and uh that's a sketch that on rewatch wasn't very memorable the first time seeing it you know know eight years ago but i i i enjoyed more the second time of just being the frustrated.
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[54:15] Virgin mary with all the people coming into the stable and that was a good uh good ending sketch for that episode yeah not much to say other than that but yeah that closed out the night emma got to play weird she got to put on like a weird eastern european accent uh in the the cleaning crew she and leslie and cecily got to play this cleaning crew in an office that sang like this this inappropriate song about Santa.
Track 4:
[54:56] Um, that was, uh, something.
It was, uh, okay or bad and you hate it. Your face looks confused.
You know who is Santa, right?
That was Emma being able to play weird, kind of like Wallace, probably not as good of a sketch, but she still got to, like, throw herself into, like, a weird character and a weird premise.
That stuck out to me just because I liked Emma's performance.
Yeah, and it was Christmas Candles was in that one, which is very like you know she could have been could have been a maya rudolph kind of role that she did and that was in a pre-tape earlier in the night too yeah a good ensemble priest piece that pre-tape and that's one thing snl did well in that era they did these slice of life relatable kind of pre-tapes like the um do it in my twin bed uh it was kind of something like a similar uh ish vibe so yeah that was her third episode i think uh uh she showed out well for herself uh that was season 42 we see her back um a little over two years later in season 44 this is april of 2019 and i know there's one honestly like one super super classic sketch in this episode pretty endearing monologue i think like where should we start with her fourth episode.
Track 4:
[56:12] Let's just start with the monologue because and you know we did i don't know if we're going to to mention cameos but in the meantime you know she had played rosanna rosanna dana in the snl 40 and now here she is in her monologue talk she mentions you know invokes the great gilda radner she said it became a huge dream to even be near this place so now here she is hosting for the fourth time and so like you said just very endearing again that reverence for the show like somebody that could win more oscars than meryl streep and be asked to host and be like Like, I'm so lucky to be here.
And so she had family there. She mentioned, kind of like I mentioned at the top of the show, just this kind of lineage of my grandparents showing my parents and my parents showing me this show.
And her love of Gilda Radner was, like, very genuine.
You know, it's not like it was written for her. Like, it's a real thing.
And clearly, you know, playing the iconic character on SNL 40 and being a friend of the show for that long.
So, you know, got to start there. there yeah it's a funny funny premise too of like you know she they're hinting at like the the five timers club.
Track 4:
[57:22] She's thinking maybe the cast is going to plan something special for her.
So it has all these fun beats about Kate and Kenan. They sing a song to the tune of No Woman, No Cry.
Oh, Emma, She Hosts. Yeah.
Aidy gives Emma a silver bracelet from her wrist. They trot out Melissa to do a string of impressions.
Track 4:
[57:44] Kyle, and Emma's super excited that Kyle's here. It makes her all night.
Yeah, great Kyle Mooney moment.
Oh, wonderful. Wonderful. Yeah, Kyle Mooney is going to be just like an interesting, I'm wanting to at some point maybe do a Kyle episode because I think he did more on the show than just as a little sidebar.
I think Kyle did more on the show than we even realize. And joking or not, it's fun to see Emma so excited about Kyle being there.
Yeah, this is following Kyle Mooney being brought in as a surrogate for Melissa to do an Oprah impression.
Yes. Yeah, exactly. Melissa's like, I don't have an Oprah.
Track 4:
[58:20] Oh let's bring in kyle so fun monologue uh a wink wink to like snl history you're right she talks about her love of gilda there was an easter egg at the end of her first hosting stint there was a bumper card that had emma as rosanna rosanna dana at the end of that show so this was years before she played rosanna rosanna dana on snl 40 which makes me think that was by request almost i think so no i think emma was like i think i could do this and i would love to pay tribute to gilda and they already had like a visual of her dressed as rosanna rosanna dana for this just bumper card or whatever at the end of her first episode that was a little easter egg that i saw like re-watching these episodes yeah and i had mentioned that julio torres was a great writer and emma was able to see the vision of julio's writing and she was just a perfect person to be cast in Julio's sketches.
So in this one, we have the actress, which I think, as much as I love Wells for Boys...
Track 4:
[59:23] The actress, gosh, Mike, this might be the best thing Emma's done on SNL.
It's like a wonderful showcase of her talents.
It's number one. I mean, it has to be. It's something that, like I mentioned, if you had to show somebody something, this would be it.
It's so well done. There's not a second wasted in this sketch.
There's not a joke that falls flat or an extra cut to somebody else.
There's just no wasted space.
Track 4:
[59:50] Everything is perfectly paced. and I can't think of any host in the history of the show that would have been better at this sketch than Emma Stone was.
And it was at the end of the night.
So this is season 44, her fourth time hosting, nothing really to prove other than she's a good host and she's back and just goes full throttle, 10 out of 10 as Deirdre, the woman who gets cheated on in the gay porn. That was her role.
Track 4:
[1:00:18] And to be an Oscar winning actress at this point and being an actress playing a bad actress and just diving deep into the role and the props that you know the one ug boot and the new year's eve glasses it just everything about that sketch is perfect it's it has to be one of my favorite of all time just period yeah emma's really selling like the self-seriousness of her deirdre character it's it's so fun i think she has this great like like flat delivery so she's trying to like be the be an actor and i want to act this and then they ask her to deliver it flat and she's it's just funny she's like all right so she delivers a flat line action jared i'm getting my nails at the mall now teach my godson push-ups right before our wedding jared cut great nice and flat onto the real stuff it's like she has these perfect Like, this perfect delivery, perfectly executed, like, with what Julio Torres and his writing called for.
This, to me, is an example of what she can bring as someone who's a good actor and has a sense of humor.
Track 4:
[1:01:28] And it's why I get a little frustrated kind of re-watching these and remembering these episodes.
Because it's why I think that the show hasn't, for the most part, taken advantage of her skill set.
And this, to me, is a perfect example of what she could do.
Maybe like not in a sketch as great as this but the fact that she has a great sense of humor she gets the show and she's a good actor i mean i think she could have been utilized a lot better like julio showed how she could be utilized and i feel like if you know she of course hosts again after this but if she comes back like can we get julio to be a guest in the writer's room, and i you know i don't want to see a repeat of wells for boys or the actress but can we get a part three of this Julio-Emma trilogy.
Track 4:
[1:02:16] And this is... And Thomas, this is like...
When you bring a serious actor, actress to this show, we don't always know if they're going to be funny.
And so one great thing about Emma Stone is that she does comedy and drama so well.
So we already know that before she comes out for the monologue.
We're not going to be at the edge of our seat wondering if they're going to bomb.
But when you have a pre-tape like this, that they can flex those muscles to the perfect degree.
So we could have opened the show or closed the show with the actress, and we could make a case.
But here we are, end of episode four for her, and it should be on the best of that season, that era, and obviously for Emma.
Yeah, 100%. And to me, this is, to a certain extent, her fifth hosting gig.
So basically her last two hosting gigs just are a perfect example to me of why I find Emma Stone so fascinating as a host, in that she can stand out as a really great host during an episode that's not that good.
Track 4:
[1:03:26] And it's not the host's fault. So we have that.
So we have episodes of SNL that are good episodes with not that great of a host.
I'm not trying to bash him, but Michael Jordan hosted a really good episode of SNL, but I wouldn't say Michael Jordan was a great host. it just happened to be a really good episode Emma Stone especially with her last two.
Track 4:
[1:03:50] Really great host, that's obvious, but not great episodes. That's an interesting thing that can happen on SNL, Mike.
Yeah, I mean, as we know, it's such a hard show to make, and they don't bank sketches.
So they're not waiting for Emma to come along. Maybe she'll host next year.
Let's keep this in the bag.
Track 4:
[1:04:10] So it is of the moment. It's topical, and it's what's on their mind that week.
So we might strike gold with the actress in this episode for four and now for five and this is where i have said on my podcast that i do like kind of love when they announce a host that i've never really heard of or haven't seen because i don't go in with expectations where this one i as a huge emma stone fan huge snl fan couldn't have been more excited for and i left And I said to myself, like, that was kind of a bad SNL I just saw.
Yeah, it left us kind of hollow a little bit.
And we had just recorded or we just done the SNL by the numbers, me, you and Bill Kenny. And we did our rankings.
Track 4:
[1:04:56] So far as we're recording this episode, there's 12 SNL episodes in season 49 that we ranked.
And this Emma episode was like bottom half of season 49 for us.
But to no fault of Emma's in my opinion like she was obviously a good host a really game host there was actually on like even a couple of sketches where I thought that the like really solid writing and I thought Emma especially in the mama cast sketch but Emma really acted the hell out of it like she really went for it in that sketch there were a couple of good moments But this was an interesting episode.
I try not to get my expectations too high going into an episode.
But this was one where it was like, it could have been better.
Like, that was a bit disappointing. And it wasn't Emma's fault.
Track 4:
[1:05:48] And there were two sketches in this episode that I couldn't stop thinking about.
How did this make it into the Emma five-timer show?
Because I think there might have been the two worst sketches of season 49 as of this recording, which is the What's in the Kiln sketch with Heidi and Chloe.
And then we had Emma for the fifth time.
We didn't need Treece Henderson for the fifth time. So the Therese Henderson character I've ranted about on my podcast as like, you know, I talk about Keenan so fondly so often.
He's like a stat god for SNL.
And we saw Therese Henderson for the first time just like only a couple years before this.
And now it's the fifth time and you're going to make Emma Stone be in that sketch.
So just like some big swings and misses and nothing really that Emma could have done in either of those sketches to improve them.
So you could have the worst host or the best host of all time.
It couldn't have saved it. Where other sketches in the night, I will say, Emma did bring them up.
So a bad host would have made this episode really bad.
So thankfully they had like an SNL Hall of Famer, in my opinion, to be there for them.
Yeah, that what's in the kiln sketch is an example of the writing issues that I've had with season 49.
It was just basically, here's some bad pottery.
Track 4:
[1:07:17] That's the joke. There's no escalation. Here's just some bad pottery that we think is good.
Track 4:
[1:07:23] And SNL has had a problem with putting a hat on a hat or bringing in too many wacky things. They didn't bring in anything.
They just let Emma Stone have to just rot on the set with Heidi and Chloe.
And it was a long sketch, too. I mean, I have all the run times, but when I look back, that was one of the longest sketches in a while.
And it should have been four minutes shorter, but it was tough.
Yeah, it was brutal. But the make your own kind of music sketch, the Mama Cass one.
Mitch Lester. Yeah, it was basically Phil Spector, but like with the big like Afro and stuff. But yeah, Emma really went for it in this one.
I don't know, Mitch. The song is about celebrating individuality, not zombies. Dig, dig, dig.
Yeah, forget the zombies. Bad example. Oh, how about this? How about this, Mom?
Movie is I'm a prostitute.
I've serviced some of the most powerful men in the city. and god they're off on me but how could a powerless prostitute get even with these big wigs right well we'll find out at this swanky party they're all at come on hit it.
Track 4:
[1:08:34] And re-watching um her character wallace in the second episode i mentioned this is when she became a snl star and so i'm glad that in a not so great night that she reminded us that like this is an an actress who again gets the show but is very into character work and i thought that was a strong premise and it was fun we got to see chloe trost again sing so well for only like her second time in the you know as a new cast member and emma stone just again going.
Track 4:
[1:09:07] Just full court like all the way and completely leading it and so physical crazy facial expressions all over the set and i mean it was just like a crazy idea and a perfect host to do it so i love when a host is again trying to do like big characters and doesn't fall short yeah the sketch was better because emma took the reins i also really enjoyed enjoyed question quest and i thought it was a great premise emma was really good as the put upon contestant in the sketch uh it was it was the uh host played by michael longfellow of this game show where basically the whole point was for him to trying to foist his pet tortoise onto someone onto one of the contestants so i thought it was a really clever premise yeah not just a tortoise a 37 year old desert sulcata tortoise that yeah that might live for for another 150 years, for all he knows.
So basically it was this tortoise that was a burden on the host that he just wanted to foist upon somebody else. I love the premise.
Emma was really good in her role as this put-upon contestant that was hoping that another contestant would get the tortoise.
Wait, I won a tortoise? Sure did, and I'll miss him. He's been mine since I was six years old, and now he's yours. Congrats!
It's your tortoise? No, it's your tortoise.
Track 4:
[1:10:34] So you got him, like, 25 years ago? How long does a tortoise live?
That's a great question. Quest testants, how long does a tortoise live? Michelle?
A hundred years. No. Angela? Hmm, is it a corn or a flower tortoise?
I think you're thinking of a tortilla.
Track 4:
[1:10:53] Jen? It can't be more than a hundred years.
More than a hundred years is correct. A hundred and fifty to a hundred and ninety, to be exact. It lives for 190 years?
Maybe more. Everyone who studies them dies before they do.
It's one of my favorite sketches of season 49, an example of, like, I want to point at this sketch and look at the writers and say this. Do more of this.
Like, follow this template. It was funny, creative, good host.
Like, this one was a good standout of the night for me.
Yeah, and, you know, nothing out of the ordinary. I've done stats on my show about the first sketch of the night how they tend to be a little bit longer a little bit um.
Track 4:
[1:11:36] Trying to bring everybody in. They don't go too niche for the first half of the night.
They do a lot of game shows, a lot of talk shows, pageants, that type of thing.
So very down the middle, but just the right amount of quirkiness, good acting, good joke telling.
And we got one of only a handful of Michael Longfellow showcases this season.
And it was just, the whole thing was great. I mean, if I'm going to rewatch anything from this episode, it's definitely that and the Mama Cass sketch.
And i have to mention um her monologue for a fifth time because it was her five-timer monologue and she got tina fey third woman in the five-timers club and of course the first member of the snl five-timers club for a female host candace bergen so it was the show started very strong with that and question quest and it really dipped a lot and then we got that mama cat sketch Yeah, so that was her fifth time hosting, most recently, December of 2023.
Track 4:
[1:12:39] And I'm curious, Mike, like, so we talked about the big theme throughout our conversation about Emma being a very clearly talented host, who's a great performer, gives her all in sketches, big fan of the show.
But maybe hasn't been a part of a lot of top-notch episodes or maybe some up-and-down episodes because of perhaps the writing or her getting misused.
So how do we as fans and voters factor in talent versus things out of the host's control like writing when we are evaluating these hosts?
Track 4:
[1:13:16] Well, I think after going through these five episodes with you, Thomas, that she has made or been a part of four good to very good episodes and one probably below average episode.
So overall sample size, of course, if you're in 35 sketches or 30 sketches, there's bound to be some good and bad in there.
And as we mentioned, she did elevate some not so good ones and something like the actress was a good sketch and she brought it to a 10.
Track 4:
[1:13:48] So the sample size is there. The resume is there.
So I don't think I really hold against her this fifth time or any of the other not so great sketches because point to one sketch or pre-tape that Emma Stone like really missed the mark. I can't.
Yeah, we're both baseball fans and I compare it to maybe somebody like Mike Trout.
Like obviously an amazing player player that doesn't have any postseason resume no to speak of it's not his fault though like at all that's definitely not trout's fault so i i kind of equate it to that like when you have a really great host and you're right like if you have a large sample size there's going to be some bad ones too but that's how i kind of look at emma stone is as this like hall of fame caliber host that maybe hasn't played in like the proverbial world series or won a bunch of championships but talent's obviously there yeah it's fair i mean i and again i i've enjoyed all the episodes yeah yeah i think it's because of her though like you know like and that speaks highly of her like that's like a case for emma i think and doesn't emma just have kind of a vintage timeless quality anyway way that we can see her when she's in her 40s or 50s and I think she'll still be great so you know it's impossible to do but you could put her in a time machine with the 70s SNL cast I think she'd still be great so.
Track 4:
[1:15:15] It's really not a product of her environment but making her environment a product of her.
Track 2:
[1:15:39] So there's that. Thank you so much to Mike Murray and, of course, our friend Thomas for delivering the goods, getting a little inside baseball even with their analogy of Mike Trout and the postseason play.
Very interesting stuff indeed.
It's all up to you, though. So, at the end of the day, you are going to be the one to decide whether or not Ms.
Stone belongs in the Hall of Fame with your voting franchise that you have earned.
Let's go to a Hall of Fame-worthy sketch now. This was written by Julio Torres and Bowen Yang.
And, gosh, what season did it show up in? I'm not 100% sure.
I think it's season 44. It stars Emma Stone and Beck Bennett and a couple people from the adult film Persuasion, perhaps.
This is called The Actress and it's a classic.
Track 5:
[1:17:01] Excuse me, hello, I'm Grace. Are you the director of the film?
What? I'm the lead actress. I play the woman who gets cheated on in the gay porn.
Oh, yeah. I wanted to ask you about my line, if you have a moment.
I open the door and I say, Jared, what are you doing? Not with my godson. Like that?
Is that my content? Yeah. Fascinating.
Go put on whatever you want from the woman, Ben. You'll get your meal voucher after we wrap. Thank you.
Track 5:
[1:17:36] Oh! Ha! Lube! The director's method was to offer little guidance regarding the character. All I had were clues.
Pieces of the puzzle of this woman's life.
Two pairs of loose sweatpants. A single Ugg boot. A couple of batteries.
And some happy 2017 glasses.
Who are you, Deirdre?
That's the name I gave her. The first scene was rough. Action!
I was having trouble finding her. I'm going to the mall. Perhaps I'll get some flowers to brighten up the place.
The house could use some color, no? If you need me, you can reach me on my cell phone. Got it.
I'll just say what's in the script. I was just trying to access Deirdre.
There's nothing to her. People are just gonna scroll past you so they can get off. She has no past, no future, nothing.
She exists only to be cheated on. All right? Just save it to the script. Thank you.
Track 5:
[1:18:30] Action. Jared, I'm getting my nails at the mall.
Now teach my godson push-ups right before our wedding, Jared. Cut. Great.
Nice and flat. On to the real stuff. If you don't want to watch, you can sit on a folding chair just outside.
I'll call you when it's time for you to catch him in the act.
When they betray me, I was rattled. Jared, how could you? I didn't know if I would find Deirdre in time. Not with my godson.
Jared, Jared. Wife, we're ready for you. And then, just when I thought she'd never come to me... Action. She did.
Jared, what are you doing? Not with my godson!
I saw the rich and beautiful backstory of this woman.
Her childhood, her first job, the night she met Jared. Two, one, happy New Year!
Track 5:
[1:19:22] The promises she was told i will love you a woman forever her godson's 18th birthday i know how much you like batteries and all the other times she was blindsided by life jared someone broke in and stole my love dog boot jared you have a second cell phone jared why is godson sleeping over I felt the bruises and scars of her past. I saw what led her here.
Cut we'll edit that out just give her the meal voucher, oh deirdre how do i get you out of me i can't take you with me i'm sorry this is it goodbye, oh how did i get lube on me, Oh boy.
Track 2:
[1:20:40] That was one of my favorites when I saw it, and it really holds up.
I mean, it's only a couple years old, it's only five years old at this point, but goodness gracious, what a great piece of writing.
Writing going back to thomas and uh mike it would be just so fascinating if she had got writing of that ilk in her fifth appearance on the show which was a little shaky in my book uh they talked about it um at a level that uh go back and listen to it just go back and listen to it listen to it again that's what I'm trying to tell you and that's what I've got for you this week, it's been a busy one talking Emma Stone and.
Track 2:
[1:21:31] Really getting to know why she belongs in the hall, next week we invite our friends and Thomas' cohort on the Pop Culture 5 podcast, Jeremy Dove he'll be joining us to discuss the enigmatic Tracy Morgan so you're going to want to listen to that, now, if you would On your way out, as you pass the Weekend Update exhibit, turn out the lights, because the SNL Hall of Fame is now closed.
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