For folks who never watched the show during the "classic" years (whether that means the NRFPTP era, the Ebersol years, the late '80s, etc), this week is almost exactly what "classic" episodes were: One or two brilliant sketches, a few decent ones, some stinkers, and a solid Weekend Update to hold it together. People forget about the stinkers (mostly) when thinking about the classic shows. But the show's been so good recently that a "normal" episode feels incredibly weak.
Of course, it doesn't help that January Jones was simply terrible live, missing her cue time and again, and simply not showing much in the way of comedic chops until the very end. If it weren't for Jason Sudeikis, this show would have tanked completely.
Biden on Health Care: Sudeikis's Biden is an inspired parody, and this one was a solid skit and a good opener.
Monologue: Oy. Jones looked nervous, and the gag of the obsessive Trekkie-like fans fell flat (other than the one joke about them all learning to smoke). It's been a long time since I've seen a monologue this wretched.
Today Show: So Jenny Slate inherits the Hoda part. Since Hoda's just an excuse for Wiig's Kathie Lee, that's fine. This skit would have been better if Jones hadn't flubbed her lines so often; had she been this bad in rehearsals, you'd think they've have turned to Abby Elliot or Nasim Pedrad . The actual joke that Kathie Lee's singing agitated the Black Eyed Peas was actually funny, or would have been if the pacing were better.
Rear Window: I'm not a fan of fart jokes, so this one was kind of flat to me, but Sudeikis nails Jimmy Stewart's voice and mannerisms (if not his looks), and Bobby Moynahan does a great Hitchcock. Jones, to her credit, holds her own in this one until the end.
Michelle Dison: Talk about a character we haven't seen in a while! This is one of Wiig's better characters, and Jones was fine here (although Taylor Swift would have worked, too). As I've said before, I think SNL is at its best not when it's over-the-top funny, but when it creates a sense of laughable awkwardness, and this achieved that.
A Lady's Guide To Throwing A Party -- This was Jones's shining moment (pre-taped, of course), as the writers ably nailed so many of the issues with the "good old days."
Weekend Update: As always, the highlight. And we got Jon Bovi! "You don't have a mustache." "Not on my face." It was also nice to see the return of Darrell Hammond, who nailed his impression of that racist ass Lou Dobbs, and Pedrad did a fun Kim Kardashian (I've never heard Kardashian speak, so I've got no idea if the voice is correct, but she nailed her look).
Dr. Jekyll: A cute sketch that ended before the joke got too old, thankfully. The idea that Hyde represents Jekyll's repressed homosexuality has been suggested before, but this was a more comedic take on it (with the sly note that there was, indeed, nothing other than society serving to prevent Jekyll from being himself).
Digital Short: Cute, if not exactly memorable. The sort of silliness that eventually wears thin and becomes predictable.
Cloud Gazing: This was the only live skit where Jones really shined, doing a nice job of playing someone sheltered from the world of pop culture. Sudeikis still did the heavy lifting here, but Jones deserves some serious credit, too. I'm guessing she was less nervous by this point.
The Black Eyed Peas were okay as guests, bringing a lot of energy to mediocre songs (and if Fergie was sober during that first song, I'll eat my mustache). They performed three songs, meaning we had fewer sketches than usual.
Overall, not a bad episode, but if you had to miss one episode this year, this is the one so far that's been least impressive.
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