At the end of the 37th season of “Saturday Night Live,” viewers witnessed a first: A finale dedicated to the farewell of one of their most well-known cast members, Kristen Wiig.
Wiig was welcomed onstage by host Mick Jagger (of Rolling Stones fame), who said she was “leaving this summer to become a nun.”
The mood soon became serious, with Wiig holding back her tears as she shared a dance with each of the cast members to “She’s a Rainbow” and “Ruby Tuesday,” played by Arcade Fire. It was an unforgettable SNL moment.
But Wiig’s goodbye was not the only one. Andy Samberg, who brought the very popular “Lonely Island” digital shorts onto the show, aired “Lazy Sunday 2,” a sequel to the first digital short, “Lazy Sunday.” The previous week brought “100th Digital Short”, an amalgamation of several shorts, including “Dick in a Box,” “I’m on a Boat,” and “Threw it on the Ground.”
Both Wiig, who was on SNL for seven years, and Andy Samberg, a Berkeley native and also a seven-year veteran, were key members of the SNL cast. During the finale they both starred in the hilarious skit “The Californians” along with Abby Elliot, who also left SNL after last season.
Despite the loss of two great members of the SNL ensemble, the new season of SNL holds a great deal of promise.
At the end of last season, new cast member Kate McKinnon showed off her fantastic impression of “Helga Lately,” a Swedish Chelsea Lately, and has gone on to replace Wiig as portraying Ann Romney.
Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant, and Tim Robinson join McKinnon on SNL, whose historic cast includes legendary comedians such as Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, and Bill Murray.
So far, Strong has portrayed the sassy “Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started A Conversation With at a Party,” and has appeared alongside castmate Seth Meyers during a Weekend Update, and as a deceptively intelligent-looking businesswoman in the “Undecided Voter” commercial.
Bryant has played “Saucy Maggie” in “Working Class Drama,” a figure who hits on host Daniel Craig (the star of the James Bond franchise) in an Irish bar. It’s comedic, but not for every taste. However, she showed promise in the skit “First Date,” where every character is making impersonations. She excitedly approaches the couple and after politely complimenting the woman’s dress, she says, “Listen to me, I’m all I WANT TO BECOME YOU,” tying it together with a winning smile.
Robinson’s most memorable character to date was his role in “Undecided Voter,” in which he asks “How long is a president’s term of office; one year, two years, three years, or life?”
In the 38th season premiere on Sept. 15, the comedians showed that despite the loss of two SNL’s most important actors, the show would continue to set the standards for skit comedy it had laid out over the last 37 years. “That was the best [episode] I’ve ever seen ever,” Mina Richard (’14) on the season premiere.