| Ellen DeGeneres / No Doubt | |
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Well I had some mixed emotions before this show began. Ellen can definitely be funny at times, but if she goes overboard with the "I'm Gay" thing, it could ruin things. That's why her sitcom was cancelled the first time. Also, I can fairly say I'm not a huge No Doubt fan, so I wasn't looking forward to that portion of the show either. Hopefully some funny sketches would make up for this.
[ COLD OPENING ] Dan Rather Presents the Osama Tape
Darrell's Dan Rather may be one of his very best impressions, and this was no exception. Also, the idea to parody the Osama Bin Laden tape was an excellent idea, and although it could have been funnier, it was still pretty damn funny. The "fat boy" and "tons-of-fun" comments were great as well and very well placed. A very decent opening, I must say.
RATING : 8.5/10
[ MONOLOGUE ] Ellen DeGeneres
Just as I imagined, she pulled her little "I'm Gay" stunt. It's not funny, even though she's making fun of herself. However, her comment, "Well I guess I'll have to stick with it...unlike some people..." was excellent and very well played. So this brought the monologue up a bit.
RATING : 6/10
[ SKETCH ] The Culps
The Culps will never get old...ever. These sketches have been some of my very favorite recurring sketches for many years now. I found it really funny how they came out and said how it "wasn't a hot mic at all" and then the squealing started. The host doesn't usually get too much time in these sketches but Ellen managed to sing along and was a good character in this sketch. I really enjoyed how they couldn't say terms which were racially discriminating, so they used the term "Jason Crisp". And to top it all off, their songs were good for the most part, although I liked the songs from the Reese Witherspoon episode better. So, overall, this was a great sketch.
RATING : 9/10
[ SKETCH ] Kitty Singleton
Well this didn't look to promising from the opening segment. But, I nearly fell off my chair laughing when Will nailed her in the face the first time and said "ohh...nice try," and then continued talking casually. Even the next few attacks were pretty funny too. But this went on way too long for a one joke skit. I found this similar to the Action Talk Show sketch from earlier this season. That started off very funny, but then got progressively less funny as it went on. But the one laugh was all I needed tonight, and this proved that this sketch wasn't all bad.
RATING : 8.5/10
[ CARTOON ] The Narrator that Ruined Christmas
Well this was funny at parts I must admit. And it was great to see Parnell contributing to the show in some way, with his voice for Tom Brokaw. He really should still be a cast member. Overall, this wasn't too great, but not bad. Average I'll say.
RATING : 5.5/10
[ MUSIC ] No Doubt
This sure was...err...different. You can't classify this type of music in any genres that already exist today, it needs it's own category. It's sorta like a mix of hip-hop/rock/pop. Either way, I didn't like it.
[ WEEKEND UPDATE ] With Jimmy Fallon & Tina Fey
This was a great Update segment! There were just a lot of very solid jokes, which were consistently funny. I especially liked Jimmy's Snoop Dogg joke, it had me laughing through the entire segment. And of course, having Guiliani on for his last time as mayor was a great way to end this off. Overall, a very solid update, but certainly nothing spectacular.
RATING : 9/10
[ SKETCH ] Mango
Jeez, these Mango sketches are getting out of hand. There's only so many situations a gay stripper can get into, and they've used all of them...twice. The only part I liked in this sketch was Horatio's impression of that guy from Hollywood Squares (sorry, don't know his name...but you know who I mean...that guy with the glasses and the beard). Also, the ending to this sketch was just awful. Nothing seemed to make any sense. This sketch was extremely disappointing.
RATING : 2.5/10
[ SKETCH ] Family Vacation
Now this is a great, original idea. I'd love to see more sketches like this. This was a great sketch, hands down. "I left everything on!" The iron on the newspapers, the gasoline under a magnifying glass under the sun...this was just a damn funny sketch! It also had a classic ending, which tied in well with the originality of the idea. Best of the night, easily.
RATING : 9.5/10
[ NOVEL ] My Big Thick Novel By Jack Handey
"As I took off my space helmet I let out a sigh...at least I that's what I told the Martians it was." Deep Thoughts were so much funnier than these.
RATING : 1/5*
* - not counted towards episode's final rating
[ SKETCH ] Dad's New Girlfriend is Home for Christmas
This sketch just once again proves how much potential Seth has to be a full time cast member. I really liked Will's line when he said that his kids were actually in their 30s. Again, this sketch wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. For anybody who's wondering, this is the perfect example of a sketch I'd expect nearing the end of the show.
RATING : 6.5/10
[ SKETCH ] Dick Cheney's Snow Globe/Christmas Song
Wow. I didn't see this coming! This was an excellent way to tie in the Christmas Quartet without people knowing what was going on. And of course, the Christmas song was hilarious as usual. This was a perfect way to end a pretty decent show.
RATING : 8/10
[ MUSIC ] No Doubt
In 20 years, when all "rock" music is like this...shoot me.
[ OVERALL RATING ] 72 / 100
[ BEST SKETCH ] Family Vacation ( 9.5 )
[ BEST QUOTE ] "...especially since it was named 'Best New Sedizzun of the Yizzun' by Cizzun and Drizzun Magazizzin." - Jimmy Fallon on Weekend Update, talking about Snoop Dogg's new car.
[ POINTS OF INTEREST ] Chris Parnell is back...sort of...he recorded the Tom Brokaw voice for the Smigel Cartoon. Rudy Guiliani made his last appearance on SNL as the mayor of New York City.
Well this show turned out to be not so bad after all. Now, with the Christmas Break coming up now, I think the time off will do the show some good. Get some new material written, and get ready for the show to come back in January with a bang!