SNL: January Jones/Black Eyed Peas
C O L D O P E N : JOE BIDEN
STEVE MURPHY: A lukewarm way to start the show. Joe Biden doesn’t have the level of public exposure these days that I think was needed to pull this one off. Plus… I mean the jokes really weren’t the kind a person laughs at.
HOWARD MEGDAL: I am all for topical humor, but is the idea that Joe Biden says what’s on his mind particularly topical?
M O N O L O G U E :
STEVE MURPHY: I don’t watch Mad Men so I had absolutely no exposure to January Jones at all until this monologue. Unfortunately most of this monologue was performed by the cast of SNL, with January Jones just standing there laughing. I’d call it ‘breaking character’ but she didn’t even have to be in character for this. The Mad Men mega-fans were pretty funny, but it didn’t really feel like a monologue.
HOWARD MEGDAL: You don’t watch Mad Men? FOR SHAME! Unfortunately, this barely captures the Mad Men ethos- did they use all their best Mad Men material when Don Draper was the host?
T O D A Y W I T H K A T H I E L E E A N D H O D A :
STEVE MURPHY: I hate this sketch, but I do love what the new girl is doing with her Hoda impression. The old version of this sketch had Hoda just being abused constantly and taking it, but the new Hoda actually gives it back to Kathie Lee, and that made this oddly pleasant to watch. The severe beating of Kathie Lee could be the best performance the Black Eyes Peas have ever done. January Jones is unfortunately just awful in this sketch, and I’m starting to think she will fail miserably for the entire episode.
HOWARD MEGDAL: Astounding how unpleasant this skit is. Maybe if I watched this- seems like an in-joke for those who do.
R E A R W I N D O W :
STEVE MURPHY: I just don’t find fart jokes funny. Never have. Especially when it’s a fart joke made by an actress who was famous when my grandfather was my age. Jason Sudeikis’ reactions were the only watchable part of this for me. January Jones just had to play her completely emotionless Mad Men self, and she was incredibly bland. I just don’t understand how SNL can have a solid episode last week and then such a weak one the next. Aren’t they using the same group of writers? Do they all stop being funny at once?
HOWARD MEGDAL: It just feels like they couldn’t do much with Jones other than use her as scenery. That may be the reason for the turnabout.
D A I R Y Q U E E N :
STEVE MURPHY: Kristen Wiig is just too funny. I loved the incredibly awkward, lesbian sexual harassment, and January Jones barely had enough lines to ruin it (though she did try). Best sketch of the night for me so far!
HOWARD MEGDAL: When in doubt, have Kristen Wiig keep talking. Agree wholeheartedly. I will say this for SNL- they played to their strengths with a weak host and lack of material- Wiig and Sudeikis can do a lot with a little.
A L A D Y ‘ S G U I D E T O T H R O W I N G A P A R T Y :
STEVE MURPHY: A moderately funny faux-fifties self-help video. I feel like this could have been a million times funnier with a little effort. Luckily they nailed it with “two arms length of ethnic distance” while talking to gesturing Jews.
HOWARD MEGDAL: Good Jew humor, agreed, but this was entirely too obvious to be good satire.
B L A C K E Y E D P E A S 1 :
STEVE MURPHY: I find myself rethinking my life. Do I really want to keep writing these reviews when they expose me to music this terrible? Did they just shout ‘mazel tov?’ What the hell is this?
HOWARD MEGDAL: I just closed my eyes and thought of Regina Spektor.
W E E K E N D U P D A T E :
STEVE MURPHY: Some solid chuckles from Darrel Hammond’s Lou Dobbs impression, certainly worth doing this week. Kim Kardashian… not familiar, or at least, not well enough to recognize her voice or mannerisms. Bon Jovi opposite band Jon Bovi might have been funny had this episode put me in the mood to laugh… but sadly that is not at all the case!
HOWARD MEGDAL: SNL really needs to stop with the “making fun of the C-list celebrity.” It’s a dead end. Loved Dobbs, however.
J E K Y L L & H Y D E :
STEVE MURPHY: Funny! I thought this was a great idea, well-executed by everyone except for January Jones who should just stick to not speaking. It even ended well!
HOWARD MEGDAL: Fred Armisen makes this sketch work as well as it did.
D I G I T A L S H O R T : G E T O U T !
STEVE MURPHY: Moderately funny, not up to par with other Digital Shorts, but solidly in line with this episode’s near-complete absence of humor.
HOWARD MEGDAL: Samberg’s got to watch out- there have been a few Digital Shorts that crossed the line into too self-referential. He’s too good to fall victim to this problem.
B L A C K E Y E D P E A S 2 :
STEVE MURPHY: Oh, good, the Peas are back. This horrible new music of theirs makes me miss the brilliance that was “Let’s Get Retarded.” They do have really sparkly microphones… so I guess that’s something.
HOWARD MEGDAL: You went into the kitchen cupboard, Got yourself another hour, And you gave half of it to me, We sat there looking at the faces, Of these stranges in the pages, ‘Til we knew ‘em mathematically…
C L O U D G A Z I N G :
STEVE MURPHY: Well, that was a pretty enjoyable sketch, and as much as I hate to say it, January Jones was perfect in it. Terrific dialogue, great timing, perfect reactions. I laughed a bunch at this. No idea why they saved it for the very end.
HOWARD MEGDAL: I don’t agree on this sketch. Is she dumb, or from the ’70s? Look, just because you have the ability to use Sudeikis reaction shots doesn’t mean you shouldn’t bother to construct sensical humor around him…
B L A C K E Y E D P E A S 3 :
STEVE MURPHY: Awesome! A third song! Oh, and it’s that “Boom Boom Boom” song I already hate! As if I didn’t get enough of this track from the 6,482 people who used it while auditioning for So You Think You Can Dance this season. Yep, that’s right, I watch that show. What?
HOWARD MEGDAL: But not Mad Men. You should reevaluate your life, Steve.