Saturday Night Live Episode Recap

Jon Hamm returned to host SNL for the second time this week, and it's my own fault for expecting too much. It wasn't a bad episode -- taken individually, each sketch has at least one thing to like about it -- but I did feel let down when it was all over. It might have been better than I'm giving it credit for, but I was hoping for more. It's my own fault.

Sketch Highlights

"Cold Open: State of the Union" - I'm not sure what to say about this opener, mostly because I'm not sure what the joke is supposed to be. SNL has gotten really comfortable with building entire sketches around a single joke, but here they didn't seem to find even one; it's not that there are no jokes, it's that there are several that are half-formed at best, and each one is abandoned quickly in favor of the next sort-of-joke. The whole thing was bizarre. (Watch the "Cold Open: State of the Union" video)

"Jon Hamm Monologue" - I had hoped SNL had gotten all of their Don Draper jokes out of their system the first time Jon Hamm hosted, but I guess that's not the case. Here we get to see Draper in a bunch of other shows, including a Saved by the Bell rip-off, a QVC special (the bit with Kristen Wiig did make me laugh) and hosting Def Comedy Jam. It was ok, and Jon Hamm is a great host, but it just felt like we've already seen it before. (Watch the "Jon Hamm Monologue" video)
"1920s Party" - And already the backwards slide begins (though it leveled off pretty quickly, and even recovered in some sketches). Another single-joke sketch built around a forced Kristen Wiig shtick. The first few times she said "Don't make me sing," I was amused. I quickly realized that's all this piece would have to offer. Wait, I was wrong -- the payoff is that she really can't sing. BAM!
"Digital Short: The Curse" - I'm as happy to see an entire sketch based on something as esoteric as the saxophone-playing guy from The Lost Boys as anyone (and even happier that it was never called attention to), but like a lot of "Digital Shorts" this felt odd and random for the sake of being odd and random. They did a good job spoofing the conventions of horror movies -- particularly the twist ending -- but there was pretty much only one joke here. I still believe. (Watch the "Digital Short: The Curse" video)

"New Senator" - Another sketch that depends on Jon Hamm's handsomeness, though I did find his portrayal of new Massachusetts senator Scott Brown's dopiness funny. The payoff of Bill Hader as Robert Byrd dreaming of the old-timey Scott Brown-as-flapper actually made the whole thing worth it. Such is the case with this week's show; there's almost always at least one thing to like in each sketch. (Watch the "New Senator" video)
"Weekend Update: Snookie and the Situation" - Just prior to watching this week's SNL, I found myself catching five minutes of MTV's hugely popular Jersey Shore. Not only am I now considerably stupider, but I also found the show to be a tremendous bore: it amounted to some ugly people (both inside and out, where it counts!) laying around and making phone calls. It's the worst. And while I wish I could say it gave me new appreciation for Bobby Moynihan's Snookie impression, it didn't. Still, I don't mind the Snookie appearances, because orange Bobby Moynihan is funny looking and he performs the bits with incredible energy (plus, it's nice to see him find a breakout character). Bill Hader's appearance as one of the show's other douchebags is always funny, too, because it's Bill Hader. (Watch the "Weekend Update: Snookie and the Situation" video)
"Closet Organizer" - Here's what this sketch had going for it: it was short, it had a few funny ideas (like extra peanut butter and pies, pies, pies) and it showed Will Forte trying to make number two in a bucket. Sometimes it's the simple things I appreciate from Saturday Night Live. (Watch the "Closet Organizer" video)
"Court Stenographer" - I'm as happy as anyone to see Fred Armisen finally taking center stage in a number of sketches, but between this and "Riley" from the Sigourney Weaver show I can't say he's making the most of the opportunity. This stenographer sketch was less grating than "Riley," which is a plus (and I liked Kenan Thompson's speech about how no one is good at their jobs -- I wish the sketch would have found a way to develop this more), but it was pretty much one joke and got its only mileage from having Armisen in drag and making a face. (Watch the "Court Stenographer" video)
"Hamm and Bublé" - Trying to recapture the lighting that was (or wasn't) the "Jon Hamm's John Ham" sketch from his first hosting appearance last season, this week saw Hamm and musical guest Michael Bublé pitching a ham-and-champagne restaurant. Bublé was game and his songs about being abused by Hamm were amusing, but that's about it. Not a total dud, but pretty forgettable stuff.
"Bar" - I liked this sketch a lot more than I should have, especially because the pacing was really slow and kind of terrible. For one, it's very rare to see a sketch that exists just to comment on a sketch from earlier in the night; I'm sure it's been done before, but I can't think of any examples. For another, it was a great chance to see Will Forte and Jon Hamm be funny together, and there were a number of really funny, really silly lines (the two characters' names being chief among them, and Will Forte's parting words). Once again, it had nowhere to go and had absolutely no punchline -- the attempt to create one was actually more distracting than if they had just ended it -- but for some reason I still liked it. Go figure. (Watch the "Bar" video)
"Barnes and Noble" - This reminded me a whole lot of the bank sketch from Charles Barkley's hosting gig a few weeks back, partly because it was less than a minute and partly because it felt gutted so that the show could come in on time. Or maybe that rushed, "who cares?" attitude was there from the start. Still, I did laugh when Kristen Wiig as the narrator closed with "This whole time I've been Madonna." Something about "this whole time" was funny. (Watch the "Barnes and Noble" video)