:: snl headquarters ::

Nia Vardalos / Eve

By Neil McCormick

Honestly, right before show time, I had a strange feeling that this would be a very weak show. Unfortunately, it looks like I was right. I had never even heard of the host before, and I'm really sort of the anti-Eve.

    {cold opening} Bush Analyzes Voting Results
        This was a pretty funny concept, but it was pretty much the only joke in the whole opening. Chris looked much more like Bush this time around, and I think his performance was better than the first time around. He seems to be getting the hang of it, but he'll never be Will. Overall, an above-average opening.
        RATING : 8/10

    {monologue} Nia Vardalos
        SNL gets 10 points for putting Tina in the monologue. However, they lose 50 points for it being the least funniest thing ever...okay maybe not the least funniest ever, but it really wasn't that good. The only reason this is getting points is because Kattan with the fake mustache was hilarious.
        RATING : 3/10

{commercial} Swiffer Sleepers
See my Sarah Michelle Gellar review.

    {sketch} The Bloater Brothers
        How the hell can this be the first sketch...? AHH! What were they thinking? If this is any indication of how the rest of the show will go, it's gonna be a looooong night. I don't find these guys funny, just irritating. Fred's little comebacks were terrible as well... Bad sketch. Just bad.
        RATING : 2/10

    {sketch} Student Council Election with Dan Rather
        You can always count on one of Darrell's impressions to salvage an episode going horribly wrong. His Dan Rather impression is definitely one of my favorites... his one from last year with the anthrax update was classic. Anyway, this was a pretty good sketch all around. Dan's little analogies really made it funny, and just the whole concept of covering a high school election was great. Jimmy's speech was really funny. Nia's character at the end though wasn't funny though, and sort of took away from the sketch's comedic value. Wait... Fred as "that kid who wears a fedora" was great. Other than THAT though, the end took away from the sketch rating.
        RATING : 8.5/10

    {sketch} Bikini Wax
        I found this more disturbing than funny. It's grown on me a little since I saw it on the live show, but not enough to drastically increase the rating. It was a one joke sketch that went on for far too long. Not impressed.
        RATING : 3.5/10

{music} Eve
Rapper two of three-in-a-row... Good thing we've got plenty more where this came from...

    {weekend update} With Jimmy Fallon & Tina Fey
        This update had a few good jokes, so it was pretty much on-par with other updates this season joke wise. The little segment with the machine determining who people are by the way they walk was great. Jimmy's Michael Stipe was the best for sure, and also his "Tina Fey" walk was good too. That segment reminded me of something I'd see on Conan, but I'm not sure why... Seth's commentary was pretty good too. Good Update all around.
        RATING : 9/10

    {sketch} The Ferey Muhtar Talk Show
        Yeah, this was better than from the Ian McKellen episode from last year, but that's not really saying much. The sketch started out pretty funny with the conversation between Horatio and Darrell, but it went all downhill from there. I think they need to work on this whole sketch concept before they bring it back again.
        RATING : 4.5/10

    {sketch} The Falconer
        Umm, righto. Actually at the start when they showed Will Forte in the business suit, I was hoping it would be a Tim Calhoun thing... ahh they gotta bring him back! Maybe during the Al Gore eppy.... anyways.... Yeah this was an interesting concept, the falcon eating at an expensive restaurant and sleeping with the Falconer's wife, while bringing back a rat for the Falconer to eat. And the lack of special effects added to the sketch's comedic value as well. Not bad, but far from great.
        RATING : 5/10

    {commercial} Pier 1 Imports
        I think this is officially Nia's first funny role of the night. I'm surprised they didn't have this at the start of the show instead of "Swiffer Sleepers". This was a great commercial filled with comedy. Good call, SNL, good call...
        RATING : 8/10

    {sketch} Dropping the L.B.'s with Missy E.
        Nick pointed out a good rule of comedy; Tracy playing a fat, black woman is always funny. I couldn't agree more. Anybody who's seen Missy's new video will realize how absolutely ridiculous it is, and I found it hilarious that SNL decided to have some fun with it. Tracy's impression was actually pretty cool, and surprisingly accurate. Not bad at all!
        RATING : 6.5/10

{music} Eve
Yeah okay this was a musical performance. Yup...sure was.

    {sketch} Glenda Goodwin : Attorney At Law
        Ridiculous lawyers are another thing that's always funny. This isn't nearly as good as Will Ferrell's dog lawyer, but a good sketch nonetheless. The testimonials were great, and the big "Case Pending!" graphic that kept coming up was classic too. This could have probably been funnier, but I'm not complaining. Not bad at all for the end of the show.
        RATING : 6/10

    {sketch} Community Access with Vasquez Gomez-Vasquez
        Wow, they need to bring this back. "You're the best in the biz!" Horatio's part was really funny. It seems like they're putting all of tonight's "strong" sketches near the end. I get the impression that they were just testing the waters with Horatio's character, but I give it the go-ahead; I think they can make it pretty funny. Good sketch!
        RATING : 7/10

   {overall rating} 63 / 100
    {sketch of the night} Student Council Election with Dan Rather (8)
    {quote of the night} Darrell Hammond as Dan Rather "That boy is cooler than Sister Mary Margaret's nipples on a cool winter morning."
    {points of interest} Second episode in a row that Tina is in something other than behind the Update desk!

Okay, the episode rating really shows what I thought of this episode. It was significantly lower than the first four episodes this year. This episode really lacked a good host (sorry Nia, you tried but it just wasn't working), and there wasn't much from the cast members to make up for it. I guess my first instincts about this show were right. Anyway, I'm moving ahead now and looking forward to the Brittany Murphy episode. Should be m,much better, especially since Adam Sandler is making a cameo!