Jack Straw

I liked the PSA breast cancer bit and the Italian talk show. The RPS and robot bits were chuckle-worthy at times.

Tommy Ceez

Snow Patrol was great, and if I was Bred Hall I would DEMAND that she went to bed that night as her character from Deep House Dish

Daytripper

Would have thought you had your answer when this guy hosted a few weeks ago:

LorenzoL

The opening sketch and JLD monologue were great. Then it all went downhill from there. The Italian talk show brought a few chuckles but the rest was garbage.

Charlie Goose

This episode gets a C+. Usually there is at least one very good sketch. Not tonight. They ranged from so-so to terrible. JLD gets an A for her hosting.

Chris Rock
Blacks vs. Whites is as stale as can be. I remember when Chris Rock was funny. C+

Monologue
JLD winning her Emmy, and spoofs losing another award. And shows a really hairy beaver like Paris and Britney and all the other hoo-ers. Too quick to be anything meaningful. B

Oprah
I think Maya Rudolph’s impression of Oprah is less a real impression of Oprah than it is a parody of itself, if that makes any sense. JLD as a stalker type. C+

Monex
I’m still not sure why this is funny, because it came across as a real commercial, except for Wiig saying GOLD every few seconds. Needs work. D

Restless Penis Syndrome
A medical reason for cheating on your wife. Amateurish idea, poor execution., and terrible ending. D-

La Revista
Italian talk show interviewing JLD. Mildly funny, and Hader does a good Kramer. B

Weekend Update
Funniest part was Armisen as Anna Nicole Smith’s crying judge. B

Deep House Dish
Techno music talk show. Same bit every time. Thompson plays it well though. It gets a couple of extra points because JLD looked smoking, dancing in her yellow feathered dress. B

PSA
JLD trying to do a PSA for breast cancer, and the belligerent boom mike guy keeps hitting her with the mike. B

Robots
Wow, this was terrible. Robots that like to fuck each other. F

Pussycat Dolls
Parody of the TV show. C+

And Peyton Manning for next week. I can see it now, a meathead reciting his lines in a monotone, with a big smile on his face. Maybe I'll skip next week.

DVD Josh

You are referring to one of the main stars of one of the highest rated shows on TV? Are you serious?

Bill Needle

Not to mention easily the best guest host of the season whose name is not Alec Baldwin.

Daytripper

Highest rated only by the critics (and the people who watch). The show is struggling in the ratings, sadly. And when his name was announced as a guest, more than one person here had to look up just who he was. Not exactly a household name.

Daytripper

Do I think he's a good actor? Yes. Liked him on "Six Feet Under" a great deal. Do I think he did a good job hosting SNL? He did his best. It was the material that sucked. And Justin Timberlake and Jake Gyllenhaal were the next best hosts behind Alec Baldwin. IMO.

Bill Needle

The main point was that there has certainly been plenty of W(ho)TF? hosts of SNL, but at this point in time Rainn Wilson is hardly one of them.

Daytripper

I never said there weren't plenty of WTF hosts. When the one poster asked if they've run out of guest hosts, I only pointed Rainn out. Who's name I didn't even know. And I watch "The Office". And as mentioned before, "Six Feet Under". Looking back at the Forest Whitaker thread when they announced the following week's host, one poster wrote "No idea who that is" and someone responded with "Neither did I, but I see his in the Office". Stop 10 people on the street and ask if they know who Rainn Wilson is. Again, he's recognizable, but not famous by name.

Achtung

Considering the job some of the more famous actors have done recently, it might not be the worst thing in the world for SNL to find more obscure actors... or at least ones who can do a better job with the (admittedly crappy) source material.

Daytripper

I agree. Plus most of the famous actors have more than enough exposure. Throw the minors a bone.

Bill Needle

Robert De Niro: Greatest living American actor - gawdawful SNL host.
Alec Baldwin: Pretty good American actor - great SNL host.
Steve Martin: Mediocre American actor - greatest SNL host ever.

You just never know.

While being perceived as a great host has something to do with the writers understanding of their strengths and weaknesses and the ultimate quality of material they provide them, it has much more to do with the host understanding comedy moreso than any specific ability to act. Look at Christopher Walken. Who would have thought - based on his acting roles - that he would be such a tremendous host (he's a fabulous actor, just the types of roles he played)? But he just "gets" comedy...that and he is absolutely fearless in front of a live audience.

Sex Fiend

If you ever have a chance to catch Walken on a chat show, it's pretty apparent he has a great/dry sense of humor. Same for Baldwin. Both are (by all accounts I've heard) pretty hilarious guys in real life. Obviously, the average person may not catch on to that, as they are each associated with playing dramatic roles on film, at least through the earlier parts of their careers.

You do see both guys doing many more comedy roles these days, no doubt helped along by the exposure of their comedic talents on SNL.

Bill Needle

One of my favorite SNL moments with him came during the prime time anniversary special when Tom Hanks was taking questions from the audience, and he and Walken had this exchange:

Christopher Walken: Hi.. I-I.. wanted to know.. I wanted to know how much of the show is scripted.. and how much of it is.. crazy make-em-ups.. and.. you know.. ad libs.. improvs?

Tom Hanks: A legitimate question. Contrary to popular belief, the show is not improvised. SNL has a great staff of writers who craft every line of the show.

Christopher Walken: Really? Because.. when I host.. I just say.. whatever I want. I free-associate.. and I make up the skits and bits right there.. and.. people seem to enjoy it.

Tom Hanks: [ dismayed ] Well.. you're a special exception..

Christopher Walken: [ continuing ] One.. one time.. we did a sketch about a birthday party.. and I decided on-air that my character should have a French accent and rub himself. Julia Sweeney got very upset.. very upset.

Tom Hanks: Yeah, I've heard that they can never rerun that show.

Walken's delivery of his lines, his facial expressions, body language, voice, all of it, absolutely made that bit hysterically funny.

big whoppa

While this wasn't a horrible episode, it's another case of how irrelevant this show has become. It started off badly with Chris Rock's tired old diatribe about the angry black man. Then there were the dumb skits about gooold, madeup medical conditions, robots fucking (predictable)...poor impression of Oprah and even a blah episode of Deep House Dish which I usually think is funny because the performances are so silly. WU didn't have much bite either.

I also don't think SNL made a good choice of bring JLD back so soon. Many people, including me, thought this was a repeat and wasn't going to bother to watch.

Goldberg74

Chris Rock's Opening Thingy
Missed it. Turned on the TV and they were doing the starting credits. From what it sounds like I didn't miss anything.

Monologue
Didn't mind the opening... until I saw the pelt she was sporting "under there." C

Oprah
Don't like the Oprah sketches. I'm sad to say this, but I prefer Tracy Morgan's Oprah. F

Monex (aka "GOOOOOOLD!")
I chuckled... for the first 10 seconds. D

Restless Penis Syndrome
Funny concept. Horrible ending. They've moved these up from the last half hour. C

La Revista
Loved this sketch. Hader is a stand out. A

Weekend Update
The cock fighting joke had me laughing. D

Deep House Dish
I really like this sketch. T-Shane is actually starting to grow on me. A-

PSA
BEST. OF. THE. NIGHT! Loved Sudekis as the boom-mike guy with a hang-up. Julia was quite beleivably upset. A

Robots
If I had the TiVo, I would have FF through this one. F

Pussycat Dolls
I was hoping for Poeler's one-legged chick to make an appearance. Sadly, it didn't happen. C

Overall, I'd give it a C. Nothing to throw on a "Best of Reel". But we'll see how good she is when she comes back next year.

Oh, almost forgot about Snow Patrol... they were decent.

Goldberg74

Ok, so Im packing up my bags and getting ready to check out of my hotel here in Ontario, California, and I have CNN/Headline News on in the background and I heard a lady going on and on about "Gold."

Now that commerical parody makes sense. It's almost spot on... the way Wiig over pronounced the word over and over again.