Aired: 9/13/2008
Host: Michael Phelps
Musical Act: Lil Wayne
Cold Open (“A Non-Partisan Message From Sarah Palin & Hillary Clinton”): Tina Fey returns to play Palin to Amy Poehler’s Hillary and she (Fey) is dead-on. The buzz on the Internet on Monday morning was that Palin herself showed up, until they realized it was Tina Fey. The banter between the two women was how hard it was for Palin to work her way up and become a VP candidate. Grade: B (mostly because of Tina Fey’s portrayal)
Monologue: Michael Phelps is not – I repeat – not a comedian. Amy Poehler does a quick-change while the credits roll to appear as Phelps’s mother, much like she appeared during the Olympics. Basically his shtick is how many endorsement offers he’s been given recently. Stunt casting comes into play with the appearance of William Shatner who is there to talk about which endorsements to take while shilling for PriceLine.com. In a technically awkward moment, Phelps says “… and how about you Mom?” (Long pause) and then the camera turns to see his REAL mother in the audience who turns to give Amy Poehler (playing his mother) a hug… awkward. Grade: C-
“Quiz Bowl”: The setup is your basic quiz show for brainy kids. A host in the middle and a team of 3 kids on either side. What’s the joke? One team is a triad that has been home-schooled and appears to be some strain of Amish (their names are Zachariah, Zaryah and Zebadiah). The other team looks like normal kids from a public school. So the questioning starts and the home-schooled kids give… uh, strange answers:
Host: What two particles can be found in the nucleus of an atom?
Zachariah: Jesus and Angels.
(sfx: bzzzzz)
Host: Ah… no, no… We’re actually looking for ‘protons and neutrons’
It goes on like this for a few questions when Kristen Wiig appears as the mother of the 3 home-schooled kids. She is there to refute the answers that the host is giving as correct. Now, I really like Kristen Wiig, she is one of my favorites but I don’t like her in this skit. She keeps waggling her finger and walking around like she’s drunk. In reality, they keep changing the camera she’s ‘playing’ to, so a lot of times you can see her playing to a camera that is not on. Another technical issue? Not sure. Grade: D
Commercial Parody (“Jar Glove”): This was actually kind of funny. I like when they take commercials way past believable and then leave you somewhere you think is way beyond reality. Then what they do is keep going. In the end, it was a simple fix. Grade: B
Swim Coach: They actually did a scene like this – same setup – with Peyton Manning as a basketball player. That was much funnier than this, maybe because I knew what was going to happen this time around. Grade: C-
The Triggs: Again, they’re pulling from material that was done before. Bill Hader and Amy Poehler play a normal-enough couple with kids they like to show off. The daughter Stasia, played by Kristen Wiig, is trying to sell the tagline “I said WE”. She is wearing hideous braces and appears to have some unknown speech problem. Her cousin Craig (Phelps) is standing next to her in equally hideous head-gear seen on young men with braces. Here is Kristen trying to sell those words:
Stasia: We’ve been playing in big boxes
Craig: I was playing, too!
Stasia: I said WE!!
The guests that are sitting on the couch are horrified/mystified by what they’re seeing. It’s not high comedy and – at times – I don’t get the joke. I think it’s supposed to be showing a parent’s love no matter how bad their children act/sing/dance/whatever. Grade: C
Musical Act (“Lil Wayne”): Um… yea.
WEEKEND UPDATE:
- Latest poll: B
- Improper Billing: C
- New Trial Starts: A-
- Russell Crow/Snoop Dog: C
- Back In Court: D
- Alaska Pete (appearance): C-
- Same Dorm Room: B
- Online Mating: B
- Replacement: C
- Selling Cocaine: B
- Nicholas Fehn (appearance): C+
- 25th Anniversary: B
- New Jersey 911 Call: D
- 5-Year Old Scores Hole In One: D
- Brown Bear Collision: C
- Street Renamed – Jose Canseco: C+
- Kathy (appearance): D
- China – Off Heroin: C+
- Kennedy Center Honors: B
As you can see, it was pretty “up and down”. All in all, not bad but certainly not one of their best.
The Charles Barkley Show: Kenan Thompson does a pretty good impression of Charles Barkley – for two minutes. This scene goes on for longer than 2 minutes and you can hear the impersonation go down the tubes the longer the skit goes. First guest is Bela Kuroli (played by Daryl Hammond) who does a pretty good job until something falls off-camera and draws his attention away from the scene for a moment. Next guest: Michael Phelps (as himself). Gee, how did they manage that? While they announce a third guest, Usain Bolt, he never appears. Why? Because they forgot to invite him. Grade: C-
T-Mobile, Pick 5: Okay, from the sound of it this should be under ‘commercial parody’ but it’s not. It’s a send-up of the commercial where the daughter names the 5 people on her phone and the son names the same girls because they’re “hot”. In this version, it appears that the father has also picked the same five girls which does not sit well with his wife. Imagine THAT line of questioning from the wife about why he’s got them on HIS phone. Probably worked better on paper. Grade: C
SNL Digital Short: After the first few seconds of this started to play, I figured it was going to be another episode of the critically acclaimed “Laser Cats”. It was a space theme but this time Andy Samberg plays a techno-dance artist from the future. The song is about the Space Olympics from 3022 and morphs into reasons why the world can no longer afford to put on the Olympics. The rest cannot be explained – you just had to be there. Grade: C
Uno Pizzeria: Your basic “couple at a restaurant who are taken aback by a weird/crazy waiter”. Not sure what to say here. Don’t know that I appreciated it. Grade: D
Musical Act (“Lil Wayne”): Um… ok.
The Michael Phelps Diet: The joke here is that Phelps (during the Olympics) ate about 12,000 calories every day. He would then proceed to burn off 15 to 20,000 calories while swimming in the pool. He’s trying his best to sell this high-calorie diet to the average person. Of course, by doing so you subject yourself to massive weight gain and other physical ailments because no one with a normal metabolism is going to be able to process that much food. The jokes are over-the-top and pretty funny. This is probably one of the funniest closing skits they have come up with in a while. Stunt casting rears its head again with an appearance by Jared Fogel (that Subway guy). Grade: B
Not a bad episode for the season opener. I’m looking forward to a great season – but not really holding my breath.
Host: Michael Phelps
Musical Act: Lil Wayne
Cold Open (“A Non-Partisan Message From Sarah Palin & Hillary Clinton”): Tina Fey returns to play Palin to Amy Poehler’s Hillary and she (Fey) is dead-on. The buzz on the Internet on Monday morning was that Palin herself showed up, until they realized it was Tina Fey. The banter between the two women was how hard it was for Palin to work her way up and become a VP candidate. Grade: B (mostly because of Tina Fey’s portrayal)
Monologue: Michael Phelps is not – I repeat – not a comedian. Amy Poehler does a quick-change while the credits roll to appear as Phelps’s mother, much like she appeared during the Olympics. Basically his shtick is how many endorsement offers he’s been given recently. Stunt casting comes into play with the appearance of William Shatner who is there to talk about which endorsements to take while shilling for PriceLine.com. In a technically awkward moment, Phelps says “… and how about you Mom?” (Long pause) and then the camera turns to see his REAL mother in the audience who turns to give Amy Poehler (playing his mother) a hug… awkward. Grade: C-
“Quiz Bowl”: The setup is your basic quiz show for brainy kids. A host in the middle and a team of 3 kids on either side. What’s the joke? One team is a triad that has been home-schooled and appears to be some strain of Amish (their names are Zachariah, Zaryah and Zebadiah). The other team looks like normal kids from a public school. So the questioning starts and the home-schooled kids give… uh, strange answers:
Host: What two particles can be found in the nucleus of an atom?
Zachariah: Jesus and Angels.
(sfx: bzzzzz)
Host: Ah… no, no… We’re actually looking for ‘protons and neutrons’
It goes on like this for a few questions when Kristen Wiig appears as the mother of the 3 home-schooled kids. She is there to refute the answers that the host is giving as correct. Now, I really like Kristen Wiig, she is one of my favorites but I don’t like her in this skit. She keeps waggling her finger and walking around like she’s drunk. In reality, they keep changing the camera she’s ‘playing’ to, so a lot of times you can see her playing to a camera that is not on. Another technical issue? Not sure. Grade: D
Commercial Parody (“Jar Glove”): This was actually kind of funny. I like when they take commercials way past believable and then leave you somewhere you think is way beyond reality. Then what they do is keep going. In the end, it was a simple fix. Grade: B
Swim Coach: They actually did a scene like this – same setup – with Peyton Manning as a basketball player. That was much funnier than this, maybe because I knew what was going to happen this time around. Grade: C-
The Triggs: Again, they’re pulling from material that was done before. Bill Hader and Amy Poehler play a normal-enough couple with kids they like to show off. The daughter Stasia, played by Kristen Wiig, is trying to sell the tagline “I said WE”. She is wearing hideous braces and appears to have some unknown speech problem. Her cousin Craig (Phelps) is standing next to her in equally hideous head-gear seen on young men with braces. Here is Kristen trying to sell those words:
Stasia: We’ve been playing in big boxes
Craig: I was playing, too!
Stasia: I said WE!!
The guests that are sitting on the couch are horrified/mystified by what they’re seeing. It’s not high comedy and – at times – I don’t get the joke. I think it’s supposed to be showing a parent’s love no matter how bad their children act/sing/dance/whatever. Grade: C
Musical Act (“Lil Wayne”): Um… yea.
WEEKEND UPDATE:
- Latest poll: B
- Improper Billing: C
- New Trial Starts: A-
- Russell Crow/Snoop Dog: C
- Back In Court: D
- Alaska Pete (appearance): C-
- Same Dorm Room: B
- Online Mating: B
- Replacement: C
- Selling Cocaine: B
- Nicholas Fehn (appearance): C+
- 25th Anniversary: B
- New Jersey 911 Call: D
- 5-Year Old Scores Hole In One: D
- Brown Bear Collision: C
- Street Renamed – Jose Canseco: C+
- Kathy (appearance): D
- China – Off Heroin: C+
- Kennedy Center Honors: B
As you can see, it was pretty “up and down”. All in all, not bad but certainly not one of their best.
The Charles Barkley Show: Kenan Thompson does a pretty good impression of Charles Barkley – for two minutes. This scene goes on for longer than 2 minutes and you can hear the impersonation go down the tubes the longer the skit goes. First guest is Bela Kuroli (played by Daryl Hammond) who does a pretty good job until something falls off-camera and draws his attention away from the scene for a moment. Next guest: Michael Phelps (as himself). Gee, how did they manage that? While they announce a third guest, Usain Bolt, he never appears. Why? Because they forgot to invite him. Grade: C-
T-Mobile, Pick 5: Okay, from the sound of it this should be under ‘commercial parody’ but it’s not. It’s a send-up of the commercial where the daughter names the 5 people on her phone and the son names the same girls because they’re “hot”. In this version, it appears that the father has also picked the same five girls which does not sit well with his wife. Imagine THAT line of questioning from the wife about why he’s got them on HIS phone. Probably worked better on paper. Grade: C
SNL Digital Short: After the first few seconds of this started to play, I figured it was going to be another episode of the critically acclaimed “Laser Cats”. It was a space theme but this time Andy Samberg plays a techno-dance artist from the future. The song is about the Space Olympics from 3022 and morphs into reasons why the world can no longer afford to put on the Olympics. The rest cannot be explained – you just had to be there. Grade: C
Uno Pizzeria: Your basic “couple at a restaurant who are taken aback by a weird/crazy waiter”. Not sure what to say here. Don’t know that I appreciated it. Grade: D
Musical Act (“Lil Wayne”): Um… ok.
The Michael Phelps Diet: The joke here is that Phelps (during the Olympics) ate about 12,000 calories every day. He would then proceed to burn off 15 to 20,000 calories while swimming in the pool. He’s trying his best to sell this high-calorie diet to the average person. Of course, by doing so you subject yourself to massive weight gain and other physical ailments because no one with a normal metabolism is going to be able to process that much food. The jokes are over-the-top and pretty funny. This is probably one of the funniest closing skits they have come up with in a while. Stunt casting rears its head again with an appearance by Jared Fogel (that Subway guy). Grade: B
Not a bad episode for the season opener. I’m looking forward to a great season – but not really holding my breath.