Robin Duke: Despite a strong start, Duke seemed to have a slightly rougher go this year than her fellow female players. She didn't have the advantage of anchoring SNL Newsbreak that Mary Gross and Christine Ebersole had, which gave both significant screen time and the privilege of appearing as "themselves", both things that make connecting to a performer easier for the audience. She was barely featured in several shows (James Coburn, Johnny Cash, Robert Culp) and also visibly missed a cue in a sketch. Despite this, I find it hard not to root for her or enjoy her performances. Duke also added small little details in sketches that really add to her enjoyability once you notice them (the change in vocal tone in The New Celibacy coming to mind). She reminds me quite a bit of either Cheri Oteri or Almost Live's Nancy Guppy, two other sketch comedy performers of similar physical qualities and ability to pull off more manic and fearlessly abrasive characters.
Christine Ebersole: A one-seasoner who had some outstanding moments on the show (particularly musical numbers and the acting challenges of a Marilyn Suzanne Miller piece), and no bad performances. Even her tenure on SNL Newsbreak was adequate at the very least. Once the show started getting away from the musical numbers and the sadder slice-of-life material, Ebersole just seemed relagated to being a support player. A very good one, mind you, but it felt like the changed creative direction of the show was selling her talents as a performer short.
Mary Gross: Gross seemed to have the reverse of Duke's season on some level: in her first few shows she still seems very green and her performances lack the confidence that the other two have, but she doesn't take long to come into her own. Towards the end of the year, she was cast more successfully as a ditzy persona (add in a little bit of delusion and that is where Gross rocked), but I also felt that she really did well with sarcastic delivery, and they tapped into one of her other strengths the next year (manic mode, hints of which can be seen in the Blythe Danner monologue) when she would start rattling off the lists of things that piss her off. She would evetually grow into the most well-rounded female performer of the Ebersol era.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted here.