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I had very high expectations for this episode. I figured that with two weeks off and having an experienced host, this show would be something to remember.
[ COLD OPENING ] John Ashcroft
This was great. Darrell's Ashcroft impression was gold. His saucy answers that he gave the press were hilarious. Kattan's character was very funny as well, and I especially liked his response "We've given all post offices some baby wipes and a dust buster". An excellent sketch...we're off to a good start!
RATING : 9/10
[ MONOLOGUE ] John Goodman
This monologue kinda sucked. No real funny stuff, and Kattan as the Arizona pitcher was just retarded. However, when John mentioned that the Yankee's were losing 15-2, I found it funny how the audience actually laughed, figuring he was joking. But he wasn't...haha.
RATING : 5/10
[ COMMERCIAL ] Herbal Essences for Men
Hilarious! These commercials are so ridiculous, and it's about time SNL poked fun. Will was great as the main guy in the commercial. Good idea, put together well. Nice commercial!
RATING : 8/10
[ SKETCH ] Hudson Valley Community Circuit
Nice to see Akroyd! I found this sketch extremely clever, especially Darrell's company, Ol' Sammy's Bin Ladles. Honestly though, I'd expect to see this much later in the program. I was surprised that they'd start off the sketches with this.
RATING : 8/10
[ SKETCH ] Liberty Medical : Wilford Brimley
When I saw him sitting on the horse, I almost fell over I was laughing so hard. I have a running joke going with my friends about how ridiculous this commercial is, and it was great to see SNL make fun. the best line of the whole sketch was at the end when he said he'd roll onto a smaller horse. This rating may be a bit biased because I already made fun of this commercial all the time, but it deserves it. Hilarious!
RATING : 9.5/10
[ SKETCH ] The Girl With No Gaydar
Haha another great sketch idea! Written very well and all the characters were portrayed well. "If these guys are all gay, then why is my dad here?" That line was the best for sure. Another great sketch...this show's turning out pretty good so far!
RATING : 8/10
[ COMMERCIAL ] e.p.t. pregnancy test
Another great commercial idea! It was gold how Seth's character called her the wrong name, then interrupted the process because he was missing his "fantasy football draft". Pieced together well, great for a few laughs!
RATING : 8.5/10
[ SKETCH ] Dan Rather Anthrax Update
Darrell's Rather impression was the greatest! It was a good way to make fun of CBS's "projections" which were always dumb and wrong. Dan's "Carl, go down to the basement, Mable, get a pen and paper, you're gonna want to write this down...it's a BIGGIE" lines were great and tied in well. The surprise diseases at the end were unexpected and hilarious. Another great sketch in what's turning out to be the best SNL in a while.
RATING : 8.5/10
[ MUSIC ] Ja Rule
OOOOOH man nothing better than high quality rap music.
[ WEEKEND UPDATE ] With Jimmy Fallon & Tina Fey
This update was definitely one of the best of the year so far. The John Travolta joke was easily one of the best jokes I've ever heard on Weekend Update. Seth's commentary was great, especially his line "If Boston rooted for gravity, we'd all be floating three inches off the ground". Good to see some of the featured players getting some air time. All in all, excellent, but not perfect.
RATING : 9.5/10
[ SKETCH ] America Undercover
This was dumb and pointless, not to mention gross at times. I don't know why I wasted my time even watching the whole thing.
RATING : 2/10
[ MUSIC ] Ja Rule
Oh fun times, an encore! For the love of god, shoot me now.
[ SKETCH ] Bad Conceptual Theater
Well here's Akroyd again! It's really great to see him back and in some sketches for fun. This was a very clever idea, and it was pieced together nicely. "I'm going up here!" "Now, I'm over here!". Good for the end of the show.
RATING : 6/10
[ SKETCH ] Amateur Sleuths
You know what's sad? I can see this becoming a recurring sketch. Oh well, it was pretty funny, especially how the kids were "breaking the words down". Once again, not too shabby for the end of the show.
RATING : 5/10
[ OVERALL RATING ] 73 / 100
[ BEST SKETCH ] Liberty Medical : Wilford Brimley ( 9.5 )
[ BEST QUOTE ] "Now I'm gonna get off my horse by getting onto a smaller horse, then onto a large dog, until I'm near enough to the ground to roll off." - John Goodman as Wilford Brimley.
[ POINTS OF INTEREST ] John Goodman said it was his 13th time hosting during the monologue, when in fact it was his 12th time. Dan Akroyd appears in three sketches. Jack Handey didn't have an addition to his big thick novel.
Well, with the 73 rating, this was the best episode of the first four of this season. I don't know how much this is saying, since there are still 16 episodes left, but I have to say that I was pretty impressed with this episode. I think the combination of having two weeks off and having an experienced host really helped this show along. Most of the sketches were very funny, and you can see SNL is still pushing the limits of what's acceptable, especially noticeable during the coincidental names sketch when Akroyd opened a letter that was filled with white powder. It didn't bother me, I found it funny. Anyways, I'm looking forward to the next show, even though I don't have a clue who Ryan Adams is.