September 15, 2012 Season 38 episode
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| Episode | 725 |
| Season Episode | 1 |
| Host | Seth MacFarlane |
| Musical Guest(s) | Frank Ocean |
| Song(s) performed by Musical Guest(s) |
"Thinkin Bout You" "Pyramids" |
| Previous Episode May 19, 2012 (Season 37) |
Next Episode September 22, 2012 |
The 725th episode of Saturday Night Live and the season premiere of Season 38 premiered on September 15, 2012. It was hosted by actor, comedian, animator and voice actor Seth MacFarlane, the creator and star of the FOX's longest-running animated television sitcom Family Guy, and The Orville, and co-creator of the television series American Dad! and the musical guest was Frank Ocean, who performed "Thinkin Bout You" and "Pyramids." John Mayer provided guitar accompaniment for both of Frank Ocean's performances. This was the hosting debut for Seth MacFarlane and the musical guest debut on SNL for Frank Ocean.
This marked the first episode for Aidy Bryant, Tim Robinson, and Cecily Strong as cast members.
Cast[]
Repertory Players[]
- Fred Armisen
- Vanessa Bayer
- Bill Hader
- Taran Killam
- Seth Meyers
- Bobby Moynihan
- Nasim Pedrad
- Jay Pharoah
- Jason Sudeikis
- Kenan Thompson
Featured Players[]
- Aidy Bryant (First Appearance)
- Kate McKinnon
- Tim Robinson (First Appearance)
- Cecily Strong (First Appearance)
- Cameo by Psy
- Musical cameo by John Mayer
Sketches and Musical Performances[]
| Title | Image | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Rally Cold Opening | Despite a lack of success in having run the country for four years, President Barack Obama (Jay Pharoah) is thrilled to have Mitt Romney (Jason Sudeikis) and Paul Ryan (Taran Killam) as the secret weapons that should help him get re-elected. | |
| Opening montage | After three seasons, there is a new opening montage. The one introduced in the season 38 premiere features still photos of each cast member interspersed among a New York City background. The cast photos are edited to look like separate images merging to form one picture. The first time since the 1999-2000 season to solely have photos of the cast members. The new theme music being used tonight is in a noticeably slower tempo than it would soon go on to regularly be. Additionally, Kristen Wiig, Andy Samberg, and Abby Elliott are gone from the previous intro, as they all left the show. Vanessa Bayer, Taran Killam, and Jay Pharoah were promoted to Repertory Status, and this is the first credits for Aidy Bryant, Tim Robinson, and Cecily Strong, who replace the departing trio. The photo of the host features it over a crowded street, while the photo of the musical guest is over the Brooklyn Bridge. This episode's montage ended with a shot of the camera panning up an exterior shot of 30 Rock. | |
| Seth MacFarlane's Monologue | Hosting for the first time, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane voices a conversation between his “Family Guy” characters, then sings a song. | |
| Obama for America | Anti-Romney ad documents dickish behavior toward laid-off employees (Bill Hader, Kenan Thompson). | |
| Sex After 50 | Aggressive producer Roger Brush (Fred Armisen) fills in when the regular female host is too ill to do the show. First SNL appearances of Cecily Strong and Tim Robinson as cast members, although Strong just appears in a still. | |
| Eastwood And Chair | Following his appearance at the Republican National Convention, Clint Eastwood (Bill Hader) takes his chair and mock interviews with President Barack Obama on the road. | |
| Lids | Sullen Lids employees (Taran Killam, Kenan Thompson) find their lives uplifted when Youtube performer Psy (Bobby Moynihan) and Turbo-Psy (Psy) dance among their store’s merchandise. Psy cameo. | |
| Puppetry Class | Troubled vet Anthony Peter Coleman (Bill Hader) darkens playful puppetry class. | |
| Frank Ocean performs “Thinkin Bout You”. | ||
| Weekend Update with Seth Meyers | Featuring guests Honey Boo Boo (Vanessa Bayer) and her mom (Bobby Moynihan) gab their thoughts about the upcoming Presidential election, Olympic athlete Ryan Lochte (Seth MacFarlane) is excited about the Fall season’s new TV offerings and Mimi Morales (Cecily Strong) discusses the Latino vote at this year’s Presidential election. First live appearance of Cecily Strong. | |
| Drill Sergeant | Stutter-prone drill sergeant (Seth MacFarlane) taunts his soldiers (Fred Armisen, Taran Killam, Bobby Moynihan, Tim Robinson and Kenan Thomspon) with dares to call him on his stuttering. | |
| Steve Harvey | Hosting his new afternoon talk show, Steve Harvey (Kenan Thompson) helps a dull man (Seth MacFarlane) spice up his love life by dressing just like him. | |
| First Date | Ryan (Seth MacFarlane) and his date (Nasim Pedrad) are all about doing voices to calm their nerves during their blind date. First SNL appearance of Aidy Bryant as a cast member, albeit briefly (and her only appearance in this episode). | |
| Frank Ocean performs “Pyramids”. | ||
| Wooden Spoon Warehouse | Ezekiel Yoder (Seth MacFarlane) and Elijah Yoder (Tim Robinson) recite the strange symbols of their product’s new web address. | |
| Goodnights and Closing Credits | Seth McFarlane thanked Frank Ocean, John Mayer, Psy, Lorne, the cast, the crew and the writers of Saturday Night Live, they are the best. Also in the goodnights, Bobby Moynihan pointed to Aidy Bryant, Tim Robinson and Cecily Strong, as this is their first episode in the cast. |
Notes/Trivia[]
- Starting with this episode, Jay Pharoah takes over impersonating President Barack Obama from Fred Armisen.
- Also starting with this episode, Colin Jost (a writer for the show since 2005) is named as the show's co-head writer, alongside Seth Meyers.
- Before becoming head writer, Jost was a writing supervisor for three seasons.
- Additionally, starting with this episode Marika Sawyer (who had been writing for the show since 2006) is named a writing supervisor.
- This is also Josh Patten and Neil Casey's first episodes as SNL writers.
- Casey would be let go at the end of the season, while Patten was mainly hired as a Weekend Update writer, and continues to write for the segment, as of season 49.
- MacFarlane did the voices of Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin, Brian Griffin and Glenn Quagmire (the characters he voices on Family Guy), Roger (one of the characters he voices on American Dad!), George Takei, Droopy the Dog, Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy, and Kermit the Frog on the opening monologue.
- The real Psy appeared in the "Lids" sketch alongside with Bobby Moynihan's impersonation.
- During the "First Date" sketch, one of MacFarlane's lines was "Giggity Giggity Goo," the famous catchphrase of one of the characters he voices on Family Guy, Glenn Quagmire.
- www.woodenspoonwarehouse.com, the website address shown on the "Wooden Spoon Warehouse" sketch, redirects to the SNL official website.
- With a 4.1/10 rating, the rerun of this episode on October 27, 2012, was the show's highest rating for an encore edition since November 6, 2010.
- Also, with Seth MacFarlane & Frank Ocean headlining SNL's season premiere have an all-rookie lineup for the 17th time.
| Preceded by: May 19, 2012 (Season 37) |
Saturday Night Live episode | Followed by: September 22, 2012 |