The state of the world is such that so many crazy things can happen in a single week that “Saturday Night Live” can practically write itself by replaying them.
That was the case this week, as so many unusual things happened in the news the show had its pick of what to skewer.
Who among us who witnessed the Marco Rubio Republican Response to the State of the Union Address, with his heroic lunge for a bottle of water (after minutes of fighting the urge) wasn’t ready-made for “SNL”?
And so it was, with Taran Killan given an opportunity to be the clean cut Rubio trying to give his speech for Seth Meyers on Weekend Update one more time, except, yes, he goes through the throes of drymouth (“Why the hell did I have to eat cinnamon?”) before he lunches even father for the same tiny bottle of water. Quenched and ready to resume, they even had a punchline (“Now I have to pee!”).
It was charming to have Christopher Waltz host the show for the first time, giving way for a monologue packed with German/Austrian stereotypes and a fake Quentin Tarantino trailer, “Tjesus Uncrossed,” “the ultimate historical revenge fantasy,” featuring perhaps the most violent special effects in show history.
But aside from a couple of weird German characters — an adopted third brother of a soul team, the JaMarcus Brothers; and a creepy security guard stalking a worker with a Valentine letter — the show had to make way for all the stuff that happened this week.
A Pope resigning? In a retirement commercial for Papal Securities (“Helping popes retire since the last time it happened, in 1415.” A “Fox and Friends” interview with State of the Union Address attendee, Ted Nugent played by Bill Hader, who said it was hard for him to sit through, “partly because of what Obama was saying, and partly because my goatee is full of ticks.”
The meteorite that destroyed parts of remote Russia was handled by Kate McKinnon in a babushka explaining how she had hoped for such a meteor “to take me away from this godforsaken place.”
And of course, a cold open from the doomed Carnival cruise line that limped back into port this week.
In that sketch, Jason Sudeikis and Cecily Strong are cruise activity directors trying to cheer up the crowd, saying things like, “For people who haven’t showered for four days, you guys look great!”
Part of their diversion tactic came in reading from the news some of the stories (that the episode couldn’t otherwise address) that ended up to be downers too, from the South Korean missile test to the Olympic runner on blades accused of murder.
The boat comedian played by Jay Pharaoh couldn’t get past the dookie on the walls, a magician who changed passenger Tim Robinson in to a chicken, but then he wanted to stay being a chicken; and an animal handler played by Bobby Moynihan was upset that someone had eaten his pet monkey. “Why would someone do this? We still have food!”
It was a well-balanced episode for Pharaoh, who got to play Samuel L. Jackson in the Tarantino bit, one of the JaMarcus Brothers and Stephen A. Smith railing about Kobe Bryant and the fall of the Lakers so vociferously on Weekend Update, Seth Meyer couldn’t quite keep it together.
The cast almost broke out laughing, too, during the revival of Fred Armisen’s off-putting character Regine, who wants to talk social theory, won’t order absinthe on the rock (“which means one ice cube”) if you order it too, and can’t control herself if her boyfriend Waltz sticks a finger in her ear.
It was a good night for female characters with the introduction of Nasim Pedrad’s Tippy, a dogwalker invited to a party who comes in at the end of jokes and tries to guess incorrectly what they were about. It may be her best character since the daughter who loves her parents too much.
Even a game show skit was better than usual as “What have You Become?” became an exercise into existential angst among everyday people and, eventually, the host, Waltz.
Even the musical guests, Alabama Shakes, continued on the themes of uplift (“Hold On”) in a week that was big for them as well, with lead singer Brittany Howard featured on the Grammys, the band featured earlier that night on “Austin City Limits.”