“I don't think I heard a single consonant”
Cold Open: The O'Reilly Factor
2 Stars
My first thought, Oh no, they roped Jason into this too? After all the deadly Darrell Hammond O'Reilly Factor sketches I'm still nursing some wounds but I think Jason did a fine job and luckily this isn't just a spoof of his show. This is part three of his interview with Obama. O'Reilly gets facts wrong and makes Obama take a quiz about Gunsmoke where he wins a tote bag. It's not great but it could be much worse.
Russell Brand Monologue
Russell talks about his marriage to Katy Perry, his fame in England and how that relates to the tightness of his trousers.
Gublin & Green
Spider-Man fall on your head? Did you fall off the stage while performing in Spider-Man the musical? Did you fall asleep watching Spider-Man the musical and hit your head on the seat in front of you? Call Gublin & Green the only law firm that specializes in Spider-Man the musical related injuries.
Ultimate Vacation Giveaway
3rd and final time for this sketch. Weird that they give the energetic comedian the role that requires them to act bored next to a wacky Kristen. But I felt the same when they had Emma Stone do it. This sketch should be reserved for your Jon Bon Jovis and Michael Phelpses. The montage of past winners gets the only laughs, specifically an excited Taran peeing his pants.
Don' You Go Rounin' Roun To Re Ro
Trailer for a Guy Richie style British gangster film where the accents are so heavy you can’t understand what anyone is saying. A genre that was a favorite of mine around this time.
Royal Taster
Russell’s king taunts his chef before a meal and the new royal taster is worried that he’ll try to poison the food. Probably because the chef is screaming that he’s going to poison the king and take pleasure in it. The ending seemed a bit like they had no idea how to end it but everything else was so fun. Bill’s angry chef, Russell’s unapologetically awful king, and Taran’s naive tester were all great performances.
Chris Brown
"Yeah 3x"
Weekend Update
Lil Wayne and Eminem debut their new Valentine’ Day single but they need to censor all the violent and misogynistic lyrics. Taran absolutely kills it here as Eminem. After a slow start he’s really been on fire in the back half of the season.
Livin' Single
Vanessa hosts a show for proud single ladies but gets carried away with her handsy guest. Short and sweet and another good showcase for Taran as the show’s DJ who is in love with the host and is forced to watch their sexual outburst.
A Spot Of Tea
I feel like this should be exactly the kind of silliness I want from the show but there was something about it that didn’t connect. Andy, Russell, and Bill are all English ladies trying to enjoy some piping hot tea but Earthquakes keep disrupting them. Maybe it was too stupid? I don’t know. I feel like I should love this. Maybe it was Bill’s smirking that took me out of it. Like they’re in on some joke that I’m not. They’re sponsored by Tall Cabinets Full Of Glass, that’s a genius joke, I don’t know why I’m not laughing.
Chris Brown returns with "No Bullshit"
George Washington
The Pentagon has built a Time Machine to bring back George Washington to solve political disputes. As soon as George materializes he gets scared and starts attacking people. Nancy Pelosi ends up stabbing him in the back and the U.S. ends up back under England rule. Another short and sweet sketch that gets out quickly after the big laugh.
FINAL ANALYSIS
“This is where the show began and...here is where things went awry”
Average
3.1 Stars
MVP
Taran Killam
Gublin & Green, Ultimate Vacation Giveaway, Royal Taster, Weekend Update, Livin’ Single, George Washington
Best Sketch
Royal Taster
Worst Sketch
Ultimate Vacation Giveaway
How I Would Have Lorne Michaels-ed It
Cut Hosni Mubarak from Update and trim the monologue to fit in another sketch. I’m not a fan of Ultimate Vacation Giveaway but if you gotta keep it you might as well put it first to get it out of the way.
Host Analysis
I really liked his energy. Not to compare two English comedies but he gave the show a Monty Python feel. A lot of that is probably just the Spot Of Tea sketch. He didn’t overshadow the proceedings like Jim Carey, to compare him to another recent high energy host, instead the show catered to him and did some sketches that call for an over the top Englishman.
Final Thoughts
A very fun episode with no stinkers but no classics. That’s been a bit of a theme this season. We’re getting efficient comedy production but nothing you need to tell your friends about.
It’s been another 5 episodes so let’s do another newbie check-in. Last time we did this after the Jeff Bridges episode I had Taran in last place but due to the strength of this show and The Merryville Trolley Ride I think he moves in a tie with Vanessa and he definitely earns Most Improved honors. Jay’s holding steady, still used almost exclusively for impressions and we’ve gotten Will Smith, Jay-Z, Eddie Murphy, and Lil Wayne in the first few months of the year. Paul’s stock has been dropping. He got the James Franco bit on Update but other than that it’s been bit roles like guy who brings in the hot fondue in the Spot Of Tea sketch or that swing and a miss ESPN Deportes in the Gwyneth Paltrow episode.
Up Next
Miley Cyrus and The Strokes, y’all
Russell and Chris together oh boy!
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