Why are SNL's first 15 minutes the weakest part of each episode?

The Atlantic

Saturday Night Live's cold open and the monologue need to be fixed, says David Sims. Will Ferrell's strong episode over the weekend was part of a pattern that has become a problem in recent years: If you had tuned in for just the political cold open and monologue, you would've seen the worst SNL has to offer. "The political cold open is a time-honored tradition for SNL, a chance to run at the week’s topical news head-on before announcing the show with 'Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!'" says Sims. "During election years, it can be the program’s biggest ratings booster, with audiences tuning in primarily to see Tina Fey’s latest Sarah Palin impersonation or, indeed, Ferrell’s storied work as George W. Bush. Now SNL has Alec Baldwin, who pops in every so often to play Donald Trump and should be a similar draw. But these segments seem hastily written and ill-conceived, existing only to let Baldwin squint and mug at the camera for a few minutes while wearing his blond fright wig." The monologue has been another issue, usually with its unneeded celebrity cameos. "Unless the guest host is a comedian who’s happy to do a few minutes of stand-up, the monologue is usually an awkward and wishy-washy affair," says Sims. "In the past few years, this formula has evolved into SNL’s status quo. The political material has never found its footing in the Trump era, despite the initial boost provided by Baldwin’s casting. The opening act almost always relies on surprise appearances from glitzy stars and friends of the show (this week it was (Ryan) Reynolds; last week it was Jon Hamm). Rarely does it use the opportunity to be genuinely inventive and to show off the core cast’s talents, which is a shame, given how excellent the rest of SNL has been in this 45th season."

ALSO:

• Here's a full list of the whopping eight celebrity cameos from Will Ferrell's episode
• It was refreshing that Ferrell didn't have a tiring Five Timers Club monologue bit
• Ferrell was terrific, but he didn't need all the celebrity help in his episode
• Ferrell had a lot of cut-for-time sketches: "Date in Mexico," "Cast List" and "Jeans Commercial"