NBC
(Season 34, Episode 4)
Overall, I was fairly happy with this outing. I thought it was far and away the best episode of the season to date. Anne Hathaway hosted and The Killers were on to promote their upcoming album, Day & Age. Join me after the jump as I break down the show, skit by skit….
Cold Open (VP debate): We were promised more Tina Fey as Sarah Palin and we got it (along with a special appearance by Queen Latifah as Gwen Ifill)! Fey’s impersonation is so good it’s scary. Watching the actual VP debate I thought that Palin was doing an impression of Fey doing an impression of Palin. SNL is always at it’s best when it’s parodying politics, and this skit was no exception. They highlighted all the ridiculous things from the debate, including Palin’s non-answers, Biden’s fondness for McCain and his penchant for repeating facts. The biggest laugh for me was when Palin thanked the third grade class for help with her debate prep. I would have loved to have seen them use Queen Latifah some more instead of just giving her one joke and some funny reaction shots. Clearly, they just needed a black woman to come on and play Ifill, which only illustrates the fact that the cast remains pretty white-washed. I find it hard to believe that there is no African American female comedian who could make this show better every week. Oh well…
Monolgue: I thought that this was one of the better monologues of the season. Actually, it was the only one that’s made me laugh this season. I give a lot of credit to Anne Hathaway for poking fun at herself. I didn’t think she would even bring up her Italian ex-boyfriend, let alone make it the subject of her entire monologue.
The Lawrence Welk Show: Kristin Wiig was really working those creepy little doll hands. Watching her jab at the bubbles got a laugh out of me, I have to admit it. This skit did have one thing going for it that so many SNL skits don’t: it was short!
Bail Out Press Conference: Sudeikis’s Bush is so bad … like, monumentally bad. He must be so happy that he won’t have to embarrass himself for much longer. Poor Barney Frank; Fred Armisen absolutely skewered him with that impersonation. The wheels fell off this skit when they started bringing on the foreclosure victims, though, and then it went on … and on….
Night Club: How does this sketch get on the show? Does someone really go into Lorne Michael’s office and say: “funny dancing!” Is that all it takes? Ugh….
Extreme Activities Competition: The only thing that even made me crack a smile was the pineapple hand. Otherwise this was a pretty stupid digital short. Seems like these are getting worse by the week… Actually, I should take that back. This was nowhere near as miserable as “Space Olympics.”
Weekend Update: A few winners in here tonight, particularly the OJ Simpson joke. Will Forte’s song was just painful. It was so obvious where it was going after the first ten seconds, but went on for minutes. Awesome. As usual though, Weekend Update is one of the stronger parts of the show.
Mary Poppins: Some skits are much funnier in concept than in execution. Here’s an example.
Sioux City News: I’m ashamed to admit that I laughed at Casey Wilson’s “big black penis” slip of the tongue (instead of “big block party”). Please don’t judge me.
Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals: So much funnier than it had any right to be. Credit to Andy Samberg for doing an insanely good Mark Wahlberg impression.
Gay Roommate: Bonerplasia got a laugh. The rest of the skit was borderline offensive and not at all funny. And more singing for no apparent reason. Do the writers really think that singing will just always get a laugh?
The Killers: I’ll admit that I’m a fan of The Killers, even with the stupid outfits and mascara. Watching this performance, it struck me that Brandon Flowers comes off as super creepy when he’s singing. This song was pretty boring. Hope the new album doesn’t suck … I liked the second song better than the first one. Cheesy New Wave fun.
Katy Perry’s Less Provocative Songs: Stupid skit, but worlds funnier than usual for this late in the show.
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Oct 04, 2008 @ 23:30 EST5EDT
The show was uneven as usual, but the debate sketch was spot on and Fey really deserves an Emmy for her guest appearances. The one thing that made me laugh so hard I could barely breathe was Kristin Wiig’s performance as one of the sisters during the Lawrence Welk bit. The receding hairline was very funny, but the tiny hands were just disturbingly, hysterically funny especially when she was trying to catch the bubbles. Wiig is a genius and I still don’t know why Amy Poehler was nominated for an Emmy this year over Kristin. Hopefully next year!