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SNL Review 12-2-06: Matthew Fox / Tenacious D

Not much to say at the start of this one.  Just make me laugh, show.

Cold Open: Bush (Jason Sudeikis) at a press conference in Jordan.  Not the usual "Bush is an idiot" gag, so that's something.  And Forte is in the sketch, so I guess there are no hard feelings. 

Monologue: Bill Hader interrupts Fox's effective setup, doing a very good Kramer impression, to play off the whole Michael Richards thing from a couple weeks back.  Who would have thought a Kramer impression would have ever been relevant again? 

Commercial: Wal-Mart parody.  Too short to be effective, but nice try. 

Nancy Grace: Looks like we have another recurring bit.  Not bad though. 

Deep House Dish: Another recurring bit.  Didn't think we'd see this back with Dratch gone, but they explain her absence (which almost makes the audience sad).  Her replacement (Samberg) doesn't work out well. 

Next Week: Annette Bening and Gwen Stefani with Akon.  My grandmother used to sell Akon for a living.  Hey now!

Matthew Fox in an Elevator: Fox, as himself, is bothered by Lost fans in an elevator.  I'm sure this happens to celebrities all the time.  Like when Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon would do it on Saturday Night Live.  This one is a little more ego-stroking for Fox though. 

Tenacious D: I'm skipping past this because, although I'm a huge fan of the D, I don't want to hear any of their new songs until I see the movie.  I'm sure they rocked though.

Weekend Update: Kenan and Hammond do a solid bit as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.  Wiig returns as Amy's Aunt Linda to review the movies she doesn't get.  Amy's later rant about celebrities not wearing underwear will certainly make the internet rounds.  Maya does an okay job with some weak Whitney Houston material. 

Crazy Mountain Man: The "actual" sketch here degenerates into an excuse for all the female cast members to break character and make out with Matthew Fox.  Maya shows up as Lorne Michaels to attempt the same.  Creepy, yet interesting that the show continues to make strides to break down the fourth wall. 

Home from College: Samberg comes home from college and confesses to his History loving parents that he's dropped History and instead wants to be a Math major.  They don't react well.   Grows more absurd as it goes along, but it's fine. 

The Mayans Invented Chocolate: Nothing else really to say about this one that the title doesn't suggest. 

Tenacious D: Looks as though most of the cast got involved with this one.

Fox seemed hesitant to fully devote himself to any of the more comical characters he was given to do, but overall it was a decent hosting effort.  No real stand out sketches but nothing really awful either.  Solid show.

DVD Talk Reviews SNL: The Complete First Season

The reviews for the upcoming DVD release of Saturday Night Live: The Complete First Season are starting to trickle in.  The first comes from DVD Talk's Francis Rizzo III, who gives it three out of five stars for content:

"It seemed like we'd never get to see these shows released in complete season sets, and now that it's happened, new generations can learn that the show was never 90 minutes of unmitigated genius, and cherry pick the inspired sketches and great musical moments. This is the legend, warts and all, which means seeing the lesser segments that memory has fuzzed out over the years."

Continue reading "DVD Talk Review: Saturday Night Live - The Complete First Season"...

SNL 11-18-06: Ludacris

What has Ludacris ever done to prove he should get a shot at hosting what once was the premiere sketch comedy show on television?

Cold Open: Jason Sudekis is doing Bush now?  Interesting.  Is Will Forte sick or will this actually be the  fifth cast member to attempt it?  Anyway, he's better at it that Forte was, not as entertaining as Ferrell, but the material is still weak.  Bush is an idiot, we get it. 

Monologue: Is Don Pardo saying his name "Lou-DAY-Kris"?  Ugh.  He said it like that twice.  Anyway, Lou-DAY-Kris says it's about damn time (I guess in reference to him getting to host SNL) and that's about where I zoned out.  Kenan shows up to save the segment. 

Young Douglas: Funny bit, but it's a bit that would have worked with anyone.  Having a rapper play a rapper isn't exactly cutting edge comedy.  Ooo, Lou-DAY-Kris was the only one who could have played that rapper...

Samantha Hawkins Informercial: Domestic abuse isn't funny, except for that movie Enough with Jennifer Lopez.  That was hilarious.  Sounds like the forgot to roll the audio clip that was supposed to play over the sketch's final graphic.  Wouldn't have helped.  God help me I liked the fart joke sketch from the Hugh Laurie episode better than this. 

In two weeks: Matthew Fox and Tenacious D.  I approve.

O'Reilly Factor: Here's Darrell Hammond's weekly appearance.  This is all about Lou-DAY-Kris, first they talk about Lou-DAY-Kris and then Lou-DAY-Kris comes on as a character, and then the character Lou-DAY-Kris plays talks about Lou-DAY-Kris.  The crowd doesn't seem to care.  O'Reilly is an idiot, we get it. 

Booty Bidness: Lou-DAY-Kris plays himself in a commercial parody for businesswear that has things like "Tasty" and "Bi-curious" on them.  You know, like casual clothes do. 

Blizzard Man: Lou-DAY-Kris plays himself, in the studio, and there's a visit from The Blizzard Man (Samberg) who's white and nerdy and a rapper.  Lou-DAY-Kris thinks he's a genius and everyone else thinks he's white and nerdy.   

Lou-DAY-Kris performs: Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler and Kristen Wiig introduce Lou-DAY-Kris dressed as turkeys.  At least there are hootchie girls dancing around in the background so this isn't a total waste of airtime.

Weekend Update: Bill Hader as John Mark Karr talking about the OJ Simpson book/TV special was amusing.  A totally out of nowhere appearane by Sudekis as Bobby Knight was interesting enough.  Then Maya Rudolph shows up as a teenage promoting not eating.  "Hello, SNL?  Melanie Hutsell is on the phone."  And Seth's Google and Muslim jokes were good. 

Pool Watch: A new show on the CW Network.  A new sketch.

Plastic Surgery Trailer: Will Forte finally shows up.  I wonder if he was trapped in a small Nevada town up until now.  I'm not even sure what this sketch was about.  I'm surprised this didn't end with the cast addressing the audience telling us how stupid we are for not getting it. 

Lesbian Cruise: Lou-DAY-Kris is the captain of a lesbian cruise, and he likes lesbians.  Maya at one point says "Is there a point to this?"  I like it when the dialogue in the sketches makes my job easier. 

Lou-DAY-Kris performs again: Kenan introduces him dressed as a turkey this time.  No hootchies.

Old Men: Darrell Hammond is in two sketches, the second at 12:55am?  Weird.  And he's only doing a character, not an impression.  He and Lou-DAY-Kris are old men talking about how things used to be.  Hammond had about an hour to get his moustache glued on for this sketch and it still falls off, which produces a gigglefest. 

Will Forte was in one sketch.  Fred Armisen wasn't even on camera until the goodnights.  Such a disappointment after last week's awesome episode.

SNL 11-11-06: Alec Baldwin / Christina Aguilera

I always have high hopes when Alec Baldwin hosts, and here's what I want out of this episode.  I want Donald Rumsfeld on Baldwin's "Tony Bennett Show" sketch.  I want Steve Martin to show up and continue the gag between the two hosts about who hosts SNL more.  And I want expect the cast of 30 Rock to have cameos.

Cold Open: Kristen Wiig as new Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.  They really stick it to the democrats here... welcome back to power blue team.  I believe this'll be Kristen's first "Live from New York..."  Good for her.   Good open too. 

Monologue: Well, I'll be damned, it's Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan to help Baldwin with his monologue.  And well it's basically a big plug for 30 Rock. 

Commercial Parody: Holy crap it's a commerical parody!  I remember those!  This is for a dating website called e-zdate.com that's really an escort service.  See?  You can do these every week Lorne.  That was just filmed in front of a green screen and it looks like any other commerical you see on the air today.  Oh yeah, it was good too. 

Britney Spears Divorce: Amy Poehler is Britney, talking to her lawyer about her divorce.  The sketch is predictable, but it's shot in a bizarre way that I've noticed a lot of this season where Poehler is staring straight at the camera (where the cue cards are) and never looks at the other character in the scene. 

Saddam's Back: Baldwin reprises Saddam Hussein, which both the crowd and I enjoy.  The joke here is that Saddam makes a lot of American pop culture references.  Short but sweet.   

Commerical Parody: Holy crow, another one!  This one is for Valtrex (you know, for your genital herpes).  Awesome. 

Next Week: Ludicris as both host and musical guest.  Seriously, this'll be the low point of the entire season.  Maybe the decade.

Carpool: Baldwin and Wiig are in top form as new carpool friends who keep accidentally offending each other.  "Bobby McFerrin raped my grandmother."  I laughed for five minutes at that line. 

Saturday TV Funhouse: An anime of the Japanese hot dog eating guy Kobayashi.  William Perry is in there too for some reason.  I liked this just fine, but South Park already did the best anime parody I've ever seen so this felt a little too "me too!" for my taste. 

The Platinum Lounge: The place where 12 time + hosts of SNL get to hang out.  Alec brings Maya in, but she's quickly bounced for only being a member of the "working cast".  Hooray!  Steve Martin is waiting inside the Platinum Lounge!  Hey, Martin Short is the bartender!  Yay!  They get involved in a Princess Bride-ish routine of trying to poison each other's drinks.  Then, holy hell, Paul McCartney shows up (which seems to totally shock Baldwin, as I think they were expecting Paul Simon).  Wow.  While it wasn't exactly hilarious, THAT'S how you take full advantage of being a live show.  That was fun.

Christina Aguilera performs: I am not a fan of hers, and she looks utterly ridiculous.  I'm not entirely convinced that she's actually singing either.  My mom used to have yarn that looks like this woman's head.

Weekend Update: I just noticed that Seth Meyers' head bobbles around all the time during Update.  Someone should point this out to him.  Meyers interviews Donald Rumsfeld (damn!), but the segment goes nowhere.  That was sad, considering what promise it had.  Amy's Aunt Linda (Wiig) is the new Culture Correspondent and sadly I know people just like her character who just don't get "it".  Andy Samberg plays a waiter who served Tom Cruise recently.  It's such a simple gag but it kinda works. 

The Tony Bennett Show: Hooray!  Tony's guest is Kevin Federline (Samberg).  Haha, he's quickly bounced off the show.  Whoa, his next guest is the real Tony Bennett!  It's fun to have these two talking to one another, as it shows how dead on Baldwin's impression is.  I was going to say it was a pity they already blew the Rumsfeld potential in Update, but screw that... Tony Bennett! 

Rick Corman, Brazil Guy: Baldwin's a dude who moved to Brazil 20 years ago and now he hits on ladies, badly.  Simple.  Decent. 

Christina Aguilera performs again: What era does this person think she's in?

A Moment with the Out-Of-Breath Jogger from 1992:  Ugh, please do not make this a recurring character.  He's 10 years in the future now (although he nearly blows the premise by almost saying 1982 instead of 1992 at one point), and I think he only exists for when the show runs long and they need a sketch that only runs 30 seconds. 

Christina Aguilera performs again (but with Tony Bennett this time): One of these things is not like the other...

What a freakin' show!  Paul McCartney, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Tony Bennett... great sketches... big laughs... surprises... this one had it all.  Also, the photos used as bumpers throughout were all putting Baldwin into famous photographs from the past.  Just really cool.  Top notch folks, well done.  Too bad next week is Ludicris.

Retro SNL 1-8-00: Jamie Foxx / Blink-182

Saturday Night Live returned to the air after the Christmas break with host Jamie Foxx, who I guess was promoting Any Given Sunday?

Cold Open: Hillary Clinton is packing to leave the White House while Bill tries to talk on the phone. 

Monologue: Foxx confirms he's promoting Any Given Sunday, and then is interrupted by Oliver Stone (Ferrell) who is directing the monologue.  Then Jamie Foxx tells us that he has a big penis and he showed it to Cameron Diaz.  Stone keeps interrupting, then Kattan joins in as Al Pacino. 

Hamburger Helper Antibacterial: Another rock solid commerical parody. 

Puff Daddy and Jennifer Lopez in Therapy: I've never paid a second's worth of attention to Sean Combs so I'm at a disadvantage during this whole thing.  Awkwardly performed and seemingly goes on forever, but it seems to be clicking with the crowd though. 

Blackjack's Bitch: Prison sketch, and Foxx is acting really oddly for some reason.  Once the premise presents itself, things pick up.  Only Will Ferrell can deliver the line "Hey Blackjack, am I still your bitch?" 

A Special Message from Former Cast Member John Goodman: Goodman's on stage, dressed as Linda Tripp.  Tripp's has plastic surgery and weight loss recently and Lorne wants Goodman to do the same.  Goodman chooses to retire from the character instead.  Then he doesn't retire. 

Nick Burns: Jimmy Fallon's second appearance as Nick Burns, officially making him a recurring character.  Foxx has no business being in this sketch at all, as his obvious lack of knowledge of anything computer-y makes him stand out like a sore right-clicking finger. 

Jamie and Tracy Morgan Backstage: Tracy is glad to have another black person around.  Tim Meadows doesn't count because he reads.  Tracy then screams at Lorne "Get me a soda bitch!". 

Weekend Update with Colin Quinn: Foxx comes on as Stevie Wonder (kind of ironic) who's just had his sight restored.  Horatio Sanz does a bit as an inappropriate cartoonist.  Then Will Ferrell arrives to save the day as Braves pitcher John Rocker.  This not only saves the segment, but it should also be on The Best of Will Ferrell Volume 3.  Ferrell:   The rest:

Blink 182 Performs "All the Small Things": I have this album, and I liked Blink 182.  They were a good "flavor of the month" band.  This performance isn't very good though.  Looks like they have Samurai Deli written on their speakers with white tape.

Showtime at the Apollo: Various acts perform and suck.  No real point to this. 

Jeffrey: Horatio doesn't know the new guy at work until someone points out that he's the black guy.  Then he knows.  Then he's taken to task for it. 

Blink 182 performs "What's My Age Again?": Good song, but again, not sung very well.

Martin Luther King Day Moment: Foxx is King, giving an early draft of his famous speech. 

Jamie Foxx was on In Living Color so I know he's done sketch comedy before, but he seemed out of his element here.  It was like he was tempted to hijack every sketch he was in.  He'd stumble over a line and then it felt as though he was just going to go off in a totally different direction.  Plus, it seemed like the audience wanted to talk to Foxx throughout the show.  At various times you can hear audience members verbally agreeing or disagreeing with things he says.  Just an odd vibe to the entire night.

Retro SNL 4-10-99: John Goodman / Tom Petty

Despite my love of Will Ferrell, I didn't see much SNL during this time period.  After Norm MacDonald was fired I really soured on the show, and so I simply found better things to do with my time on Saturday nights.  In retrospect, I missed out on some really fantastic years of SNL.  Adam McKay (Anchorman, Talladega Nights) was the head writer at this time, and his sense of humor really matches up with mine.

Cold Open: Clinton doesn't want to tell the truth.  He's a dirty liar. 

Monologue: Writers Paula Pell and Tina Fey in the audience accuse John Goodman of hosting a repeat.  He tries to prove that it's not. 

Adult Literacy: Goodman's in a volunteer night class but insists on being the class clown, showing how ridiculous the concept is when you're not 8 years old.  There's a rare sighting of a Darrell Hammond non-impression character in this one.  I like the concept and Tim Meadows always makes for a good straight man in sketches like these. 

Shaun Mondavi Vineyards: If and when there's a Best of Will Ferrell Volume 3, this HAS to go on it.  I laughed for five straight minutes after his first reaction to drinking his own brand of wine. 

CNN Commercial: CNN keeps partnering with magazines.  Short and sweet. 

Wrap It Up: Chris Kattan is a really bad gift wrapper in a store owned by his over-protective father. 

Hello Dolly: A Home Shopping Network show about ridiculous dolls.  Then the hosts start revealing disturbing personal information about themselves.  Hmmm. 

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers perform "Swingin'": These guys just keep doing what they do best.

Weekend Update with Colin Quinn: Quinn can be funny at times.  He was rarely funny doing Weekend Update.  Tracy Morgan stumbles his way through a lame bit.  Cheri Oteri is acceptable as her Collette Reardon / crazy drug lady, and saves the segment from getting the angry rating from me. 

Santa in the Spring: Santa's domestic quarrels with Mrs. Claus during the non-Christmas season.  The crowd seems uncomfortable but I thought it was humorous.  Very dark... a rarity for SNL. 

Happy Smile Patrol: This also belongs on a Best Of compilation, but since it's a group effort it's hard to single someone out.  It's a kids television show that's interrupted by breaking news that the stars of said show are doing all sorts of horrible, vile things.  Then they cut back to the show.  Then they break in again, etc.  I know the concept seems silly but it's so absurd that it works. 

VH1 visits Bun E. Carlos from Cheap Trick: He works in a bowling alley now.  Quick and painless. 

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers perform "Room at the Top": Solid musical guests, as always.

The Whorehouse's New Computer: I really like the concept of this one.  A cathouse gets a new computer system to accept credit cards and to bill according to which services you've just enjoyed.  However the employees are still learning the software which makes for an uncomfortable wait for Goodman's character, who would really just like to leave.  Cheri Oteri created her Nadeen character here, although that's not the point of the sketch. 

After Norm left, Weekend Update became the weakest part of the show.  However (at least in the case of this particular episode), everyone else stepped it up and produced some great sketches.  This is a quality episode of SNL.

SNL 10-28-06: Hugh Laurie / Beck

I am intrigued to see if SNL can pull off two good shows in a row.  Last week's was a surprisingly good effort, and let's see now if they can do it again.

Cold Open: Lorne Michaels open with an address about how the NBC budget cuts have forced him to sell the first five minutes of the show to a foreign government.  Cue Borat (Sacha Baron Cohen) to do a bit and promote his new movie.  Interesting way to start the show.  Pop culture good, politics bad.  Good lesson learned SNL. 

Monologue: Ok, that was weird... the audience's initial applause sounded as if it was being piped into the studio.  Long and a bit rambling, but again, seemed outside the box for SNL and so I enjoyed it.   

Most Haunted: I guess this is a parody of a show I've never seen.  And here I was, all ready to give them props for another sketch that at least visually was different from the usual fare, and what do we get?  A fart joke.  A five minute fart joke sketch.  Jesus. 

Saturday TV Funhouse: Pretty weak, except I did chuckle a bit at the total ridiculous of the last political ad. 

World Series National Anthem: So is this a parody of something that actually happened or just a stab at the ridiculousness of most people who sing the national anthem?  Jesus that fart joke sketch really, REALLY pissed me off, and it continues to through this sketch. 

November 11th: Alec Baldwin hosts.  Yay!

The Queen Visits New York: There are ridiculous requests for the Queen's upcoming visit.  The fart joke sketch really pissed me off. 

(At this point I've essentially taken a break from the recap, to try and see if I can start fresh and ignore the fart joke sketch.  It made me lose the will to laugh.)

Hardball: Okay I'm back.  Since this sketch would usually appear in the cold open, I'm going to pretend that the show has started again.  The premise here is that the Republicans are self-destructing because of numerous scandals and also denying it.  Howard Dean wanting to fight people was briefly amusing.  No Zell Miller?  WTF is the point of this sketch then? 

Hugh Laurie Sings: Hmmm, this was unexpected.  He sings a protest song, just without a clear answer to the questions his song is asking. 

Beck performs: 1) Beck is a scientologist so therefore he's an idiot.  B) Why are there puppets performing half of this song?

Weekend Update: Seth's joke about London being the new financial capital of the world was good.  Will Forte returns as Tim Calhoun, which I enjoy.  Armisen and Hader, as a same sex couple from Jersey, were good as well.  Those three things, and Seth's last two semi-decent jokes saved the otherwise lackluster segment. 

Mr. Rivers' Broken Leg: I'm guessing someone on the writing staff was in an ER recently and overheard something similar to this, which then degenerates into a commercial for House / public service announcement. 

The Curse of Frankenstein: Angry townspeople are fooled by Frankenstein's monster into thinking they have the wrong house.  Dracula then does the same thing to them. 

Next Week: The Best of Darrell Hammond.  It'll mark the first time a compilation for a performer will air while that performer is still in the cast.

Beck performs again: This time his band has a meal during the song, as do the puppets, doing some sort of Stomp thing.  Are the puppets idiot scientologists too?

Job Interview: The interviewers make irritating "impressed" noises during the interview.  This felt like a discarded Monty Python link. 

At various times during the show it sounded as if there was construction going on elsewhere in the studio.  Crashing and banging and other distracting sounds.  Add to that the weird applause being piped in during the start of the monologue and some other technical gaffes here and there and this was one sloppy live production.

Laurie is a solid performer for this kind of show, however he was given awful material.

I'm giving this show credit for doing a lot of things differently in terms of structure, ie not opening with Bush, a song by Hugh Laurie, etc.  But overall it just wasn't funny.  And funny is kinda what I tune in for when I watch a comedy show.

And good lord, a five minute fart joke sketch?!  Want to improve this show in reruns?  Air that one at 12:55 instead of your showcase slot right after the monologue.

Retro SNL 4-8-95: Damon Wayans / Dionne Farris

Damon Wayans was fired from Saturday Night Live in 1986, after hijacking a sketch.  Later that season he was brought back to do stand up, and then nine years later he was invited to host.  Say what you will about Lorne Michaels, but at least he doesn't seem to hold a grudge.

An Address from Judge Ito: The OJ Simpson stuff from the mid-90s is akin to the Bush skits of today.  It's easy, and therefore it's lazy.  And it doesn't hold up.  At least it was short. 

Monologue: Wayans makes absolutely no mention of ever even being in the building before, launching directly into his stand-up routine.  I don't like it when hosts do stand-up.  It's the writers saying "We give up, just go out there and do your act.  We got nothing."  On top of that, his act is about the differences between white people and black people.  Ugh. 

Bathroom Monkey: This is one of the best commercial parodies SNL has ever done.  Monkey Hate Clean! 

Camp Ujaama: Black kids have screwed up names.  That's about it for this one.  The absurdness of some of the names produces a smile or two, but as a sketch, it's not that great. 

Men on Film: Now this is odd.  SNL is doing a sketch that originated on In Living Color.  Farley plays Roger Ebert, replacing David Alan Grier's character... until Grier shows up at the end anyway.  Simple, but decent. 

Dionne Farris sings "I Know": I've never heard of this woman in my life.  I do know this song though.

Weekend Update with Norm MacDonald: David Spade does a bit as Jeff Foxworthy that he kinda half-asses his way through but I think it's hilarious nonetheless.  Sandler comes on to convince Mike Tyson, just released from prison, to beat up his enemies.  Norm was on top of his game as well.  I believe this is the historic first mention of "crack whore" on Weekend Update. 

Perspectives: They could have done this every week and I wouldn't have cared.  I love Perspectives.  For some reason in repeats they've replaced this with the dress version.  I think the live version has better timing though. 

Stiles Monroe: Kevin Nealon and Molly Shannon get doused with spit from the spit valve of a jazz trumpet player. 

Cirque du Soleil: Chris Elliott, Mark McKinney and Morwenna Banks make Cirque du Soleil look just about as absolutely ridiculous as possible. 

Deep Thoughts: I don't think this was a part of the original airing, and was instead inserted later to pad out time somewhere. 

Christopher Walken for Skittles: This is a classic sketch from the era, and one that got Jay Mohr into a heap of trouble.  According to his book Gasping for Airtime, the sketch was supposed to run for 50 seconds.  But because of the laughs it was getting, he had to wait to deliver some of his lines and instead it ran for 80 seconds.  Mohr said that Lorne was furious backstage and didn't talk to him for an entire week afterwards.  Watching the sketch again, I'm really not sure what laughs Mohr is referring to.  The audience is not laughing that much.  He's just drawing everything out. 

Anton Jackson: Another of Wayans' In Living Color characters, testifying at the OJ trial.  I know the host has a lot of pull in what gets on the air during that particular week, but this is just lazy. 

Dionne Farris sings "Blackbird": Well, points for singing some Lennon / McCartney.

Tom Jones Underwear: Mohr is Tony Bennett, selling used Tom Jones underwear on the Home Shopping Network. 

A very mixed bag of a show.  Weekend Update was outstanding.  Christopher Walken for Skittles and Perspectives are great.  Everything else was average to horrible.  1994-95 was a very uneven season, but again, it's FAR from the worst.

SNL 10-21-06: John C. Reilly / My Chemical Romance

Saturday Night Live returns tonight with Talladega Nights co-star John C. Reilly and musical guests My Chemical Romance.  Will Ferrell is rumored to be making a cameo appearance.  I have high hopes for tonight's show... I hope it doesn't let me down.  Please don't let me down.

Cold Open: Special Report w/Brit Hume.  Darrell Hammond gets a nice ovation to start, probably because they're hoping it won't be a President Bush sketch.  Well guess what, it is.  Boo. 

Monologue: Will Ferrell shows up (hooray!) to do his James Lipton, who thinks John C. Reilly is amazing.  He then proceeds to make up ridiculous facts about Reilly's filmography.

Colonial Williamsburg: Reilly's character takes his "historically accurate" job a little too seriously, and acts inappropriately towards everyone.  Could have been a little better. 

Next Week: Hugh Laurie and Beck.  Hmmm...

Doug Frangelo: Reilly is a ridiculous swimming trainer.  Totally ridiculous and yet totally hilarious. 

Korean Television: Amy Poehler is doing Kim Jong-Il again.  We're going to be subjected to this all year, aren't we.

Two A-holes Work Out With a Trainer: This sketch is growing on me.  This one was decent enough, although I think the one from last season with Jack Black was better.

My Chemical Romance 1: You don't see many bands with a Romulan for a lead singer, so that's something.  They kinda rock, but the Romulan dude scares me... so it might be a push.

Weekend Update: Several really good jokes, and Kenan's bit as Flava Flav was decent. 

Drunk Girls: Reilly in drag as a really sad girl who drinks and eats too much.  REALLY takes an odd turn when Fred Armisen shows up.  Don't watch this one expecting jokes, but Reilly's performance in it is hilarious. 

House of Carters: I've seen about 30 seconds of this actual show, which was enough to know that they pretty much got the jist of this show down.  Would have worked better if it was a little shorter and maybe used as a link between two sketches.

Digital Short: Reilly is Harpoon Man.  Andy Samberg is doing the Harpoon Man theme, which Harpoon Man can hear.  Harpoon Man starts to get mad and hunts down and kills Samberg, who is wearing a whale costume.  Meh.

McMillan Family Moment: Reilly teaches his adult son (Samberg) how to eat Oreos.  Things go badly.  Might have been funnier had this been done when, you know, that commerical was actually on the air.

Operation Bearshark: When the premise of this one presented itself I was worried that it would suck.  It certainly didn't go in the direction I thought it would.  And then Jason Sudekis comes back at the end to tell the audience that they're stupid if they don't get it.  Not the best way to go... I was about to give you guys credit for being completely nonsensical, but then you got all mean. 

Another McMillan Family Moment: Okay the first one was worth it to get to this one, where Reilly has brought in a Big Brother (Kenan) to teach him how to eat an Oreo.  Kenan wants no part of it. 

My Chemical Romance 2: These guys aren't that bad.  Really.  The main dude still scares me though.

Yet Another McMillan Family Moment: Well, third time wasn't the charm for this one, but they were running very short on time. 

Dear Lorne, add John C. Reilly to a yearly rotation of guest hosts.  The man was awesome.  Not only was he forced to eat something in nearly every sketch, he never broke character, barely looked at cue cards, and didn't trip up once.  The man is a pro and even better, the man is funny.

The show itself was the best of the season thus far.  There was a real nonsensical feel to many of the sketches, which is a good thing.  A lot of material was spot on.  Let's go for two in a row SNL.  Overall, a thumbs up for this one.

Retro SNL 2-18-95: Deion Sanders / Bon Jovi

Today we take a look at the Deion Sanders / Bon Jovi episode from the much maligned 1994-1995 season.  I've always defended this season for not being as bad as people make it out to be, although don't get me wrong, there are huge moments of suckitude throughout the year.  Having Deion Sanders host your show is also a low point.  Deion freaking Sanders for Pete's sake...

Cold Open: The Simpson jury takes a field trip to OJ's house.  We were smack dab in the middle of the OJ trial at this point.  In the sketch, OJ (Tim Meadows) tries to sway the jury by showing off all his cool things.  David Spade shows up as Kato Kaelin and Janeane Garofalo plays some blonde bimbo.  Everything degrades into a big party.  The crowd during all this is deathly quiet, as they should be. 

Monologue: It's all about Deion, and he also manages to refer to the current season as a "rebuilding effort".  The crowd is not amused. 

Baseball Players Meeting: Players talk about the strike.  Deion tries to rally the troops but keeps getting interrupted with lucrative offers. 

Espy Awards: I've always loved this sketch, which spoofs stupid and needless award shows like the Espys.  Chris Elliott plays Chris Berman and pokes fun at his nicknaming habits ("Steve 'The opposite of old is' Young).  Farley plays Espys host John Goodman in what must be the only instance that Goodman wasn't available to make a cameo on SNL in the last 15 years.  Sandler plays Bobcat Goldthwait, Jay Mohr does Dick Vitale. Had the crowd not already been beaten into submission I think this would have gotten a better reaction. 

Bon Jovi performs "Always": It's Bon Jovi.  Either you like them or you don't.

Weekend Update with Norm Macdonald: Norm hits at least five jokes right out of the park, although the slavery one nearly turned the crowd against him.  Sandler shows up to do Opera Man.   

The Juggernaut Force: This is another sketch that isn't as bad as it's made out to be.  Aliens land and the Juggernaut Force enters the craft one by one, only to be humiliated in ridiculous sexual ways and then sent back outside.  Farley's pants fall off at one point which causes the entire cast to break character, however the reactions have been snipped out of repeats and Farley's ass has been digitally blurred.  Chris Elliott's role in this is amusing, but he'll later put the whole segment down in the Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live book as an example of the awfulness of the entire season he was on the show. 

Peace, We Outta Here!: Sandler, Sanders and Tim Meadows play a rap trio.  They rap very short, nonsensical things.  And that's that.  Goes on FAR too long. 

Bon Jovi performs "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night": See their first appearance.

Perspectives: This series of sketches ALWAYS makes me laugh.  Unfortunately, Deion almost wrecks it using a stupid voice though.

Deion visits a sick kid: The host plays himself and promises a dying kid (Farley) that he'll showboat during a game. 

Deion Raps: The third musical segment of the show has Deion and his crew come out and kill a lot of time by rapping.  At least the dancers were scantily clad.

Final score for this episode: Not good, not good at all.  Weekend Update (as will often be the case during Norm's time on the show) was the only true bright spot.