November 22, 2008

Saturday Night Live
November 22, 2008
Host: Tim McGraw
Musical Guest: Ludacris & T-Pain

Hi, this is Dave's wife Raina, guest-blogging for the evening. I've been watching SNL pretty consistently since about 1993, when Kevin Nealon was hosting Weekend Update, and Wayne's World was in its heyday.


Cold Open.
Financial bailout meeting. Maybe this is TOO timely--I'm not finding it especially funny.

Opening Credits.
I don't know much about country music, but Tim McGraw is driving home the ol' cowboy hat stereotype. I'm surprised his quick song was as sincere as it was--maybe now that Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are gone from the show, there's no one to write wacky dancing ladies into the guest's opener.

Clear Rite.
A dental sketch! Yay! Kristen Wiig does affected characters well. I know how her character feels. Whoa, and one of the new girls is in this sketch. I still have no idea if she is funny or not, after 20 seconds of screentime.

Dateline: Real-Life Crimes.
I'm not even sure who Bill Hader is impersonating, but it's funny.

Turkey Escape.
I was hoping for a Sarah Palin turkey-pardoning parody, but no dice. Actually, the real thing was parody enough.

(Real actual commercial.)
Tim McGraw has an actual cologne! I'm guessing it smells like cowboy hat.

James Bond.
We were just watching Dr. No last night, and we watched Casino Royale last week, and I was pondering whether they always play cards in JB movies. Verdict: I guess so. Bill Hader plays the part surprisingly well. Throwing a redneck with a camera phone into the mix is mildly amusing.

Musical Guest.
Aw, classy to advertise the release date of your album before you start rapping! At least he introduced T-Pain. The chorus is very 1992; I'm digging it.

Weekend Update.
For a split second whenever Daryl Hammond does his Bill Clinton impression, I have to check whether it's actually Bill Clinton or not. That's how ubiquitous it's become. New girl's Ariana Huffington impression: not bad. Remember Zell Miller? Didn't Will Forte used to impersonate him and go red in the face? It was more enjoyable when Zell Miller was actually newsworthy. Vote Clementine Dimpleflibby!

Ludacris Recording Session.
Dave asks, "Didn't they already do this? With Ludacris?" Ludacris and T-Pain need to be in more sketches, they're pretty great.

(Dave likes to flip channels during commercials, which only confirms to me that there is NEVER ANYTHING ELSE good on TV on Saturday nights.)

Sex offender/mental escapee goes to Thanksgiving dinner.
Oh, Will Forte. Sadly a sex offender character plays to his strengths. Dave says, "I'm glad YOU'RE blogging."

Prank Phone Calls on CD.
This one's an eye-roller. I guess Southerners are funny?

Musical Guest Round 2.
Weird Tron statue women dancing. Their metallic hair is freaking me out. I'm not even paying attention to the song.

Uno Pizzeria Bartender.
Oh boy, Dave's FAVORITE character is back. The Peppa-Up-In-Heah character made Dave cringe immediately upon the season opener, and yet somehow it's gotten funnier after marinating for a couple months. Oh, life.

Closing Credits.
No cowboy hat!