(S34E12) It's just as we thought, everyone: Neil Patrick Harris is awesome. Why did it take SNL so long to bring in NPH? It seems cruel, almost, to make us wait like this. Even though the sketches this week were not particularly spectacular or groundbreaking, NPH's delivery and enthusiasm made the ride really fun. Unless his backstage demands and antics were too crazy for the SNL gang to handle, there's no reason to hold back on multiple returns.
Cold Open (Rachel Maddow and Roland Burris): Abby Elliott's impression debut! She had Rachel Maddow's smirk down but not much else. Plus, Abby Elliott looks and sounds like she's 17. Maddow and Burris are really interesting characters and some of the jokes were pretty good, but the links were weak. Like, super-weak. It was a lot of "And then what happened?" Joke joke joke "And then what?" Even in an interview format, there's ways to shake things up.
Monologue: Beautiful! NPH delivered each and every word as naturally as the most seasoned SNL player, sometimes even better. The monologue itself was cute, if only to have an excuse to bring back Andy Samberg's Mark Wahlberg ("Say hi to the cast of How I Met Your Mother for me"). I was a little surprised that NPH didn't take this opportunity to sing, but that can get a little obnoxious so perhaps that was for the best.
Today Show: Something just didn't quite click. I know what they were trying to do, but it didn't quite work and it dragged on forever. Also, I'm liking Michaela Watkins so far. NPH did beautifully, once again. I think the ladies were still making jokes and little gags back there, but I was somewhat hypnotized by NPH's thrusting and double-time thrusting.
Save Broadway: Ahh, the Drama Club geek in me lives on. I'm interested to know what people with zero-interest in theatre thought about this sketch. I also like that in his short time on this show, Bobby Moynihan has been in a giant cat costume more than most -- if not all -- of the other cast members (I think; there's no Wiki entry on this). Also, also, was that "Wow! Wow. Still relevant" line directed at Stomp! or Darrell Hammond? Please let that man go home. God, I'm starting to think it's just SNL holding him hostage. Does he live in the studio, feed off lost NBC pages and scraps from tourists?
Penelope: Good ol' Penelope. I'm curious to know why Liza Minnelli showed up in this sketch and not the previous Broadway one. I suppose it was a bigger surprise here.
Weekend Update: This is the first "Weekend Update" with Seth Meyers officially flying solo! We haven't had an official lone anchor Update since the days of Colin Quinn. When are they going to let a lady do this thing without male supervision, huh?
Kenan Thompson's Charles Barkley showed up to defend himself and then Will Forte shared a song. That guy really needs more credit for what he's doing. The Digital Short/Lonely Island boys are stealing a lot of the spotlight with their music (they have an album, "Incredibad", coming out next month) but Will Forte has been delivering a lot more consistent material, albeit not quite as catchy ("Dick In a Box" vs. that weird "yay/nay" song). Round of applause for the man, c'mon.
Fran & Freba: NPH makes a very, very unattractive woman. Good lord. My eyes are offended. A lot like the Today Show sketch, there was something missing with this one. There were some cute moments, but in the end it just felt like it dragged on too long.
Frost/Other People: Simple and interesting execution. Between this sketch and the "Two First Names" one, it seemed like everyone on the cast got to stretch their impression muscles. My favorite was probably Bill Hader's David Bowie but only because it was Bill Hader and David Bowie. Jason Sudeikis's subtle costume additions were also fun.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
1-11-2009 @ 1:33PM
rTwelve said...
And as usual, they don't put the best sketch (Whopper Virgins) online.
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1-11-2009 @ 1:40PM
brahmabull said...
Why no mention of the "Burger King Virgins" skit? I thought this was the funniest of the night, esp. for a last skit of the show, which are usually pretty awful.
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1-11-2009 @ 1:41PM
David said...
I thought this was an exceptional show (even with the unusual number of oral sex references). No mention of the "Doogie Hauser" concert film? Wonderful.
"When are they going to let a lady do this thing without male supervision, huh?" Hey, 30 seasons ago Jane Curtin had the gig solo for about a year before they paired her with Dan Aykroyd. I was actually happy that they didn't add anyone else to Update right now -- who would it have been? Wiig is the only woman in the main cast right now, the featured women aren't ready yet, Armisen's too valuable as a player within Update, and most of the other men aren't enough of a contrast with Seth Meyers. Thompson -- who somehow makes Charles Barkley and Roland Burris sound exactly the same -- is totally wrong for it, which leaves Andy Samburg, which might work, but why bother? Let's see how Michaela Watkins works out and see if she's ready next season. I think she's currently the best bet.
I LOVED the Broadway sketch.
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1-11-2009 @ 2:23PM
Elf said...
You beat me to the Jane Curtin solo reference. Though I don't see any reason one of the current women other than Wiig couldn't work the Update desk just because of their featured player status. Tina Fey had virtually no on-screen experience when she was paired with Jimmy Fallon. (OK, she was head writer, but still...)
However, the part of the show that really gave me a sense of deja vu was the "Two First Names" bit because I had a sense I'd heard a lot of this before. After some research it seems SNL may have been ripping off one of their own alums. Check out this bit: http://comedians.comedycentral.com/gilbert-gottfried/videos/gilbert-gottfried---the-land-of-the-three-name-people.
1-11-2009 @ 1:52PM
Saya said...
my favorite was the broadway one - but then - *raises hand* I am a theatre geek (I loved the line "the Tommy Tune of basketball" thats how theatre geeky I am)
Do wish Liza had been in the broadway one instead - could have been really great - but then I'm not a regular watcher of SNL and the Penelope sketches really aren't something I find funny... (I was watching specifically for NPH and I wasn't disappointed...wished there could have been a Dr. Horrible reference, but the broadway sketch more than made up for it)
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1-11-2009 @ 2:17PM
Brent said...
The best sketches were Broadway, Whopper Virgins, and the digital short. I loved how the digital short was a nice homage to the concert performance in "Revenge of the Nerds".
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1-11-2009 @ 5:19PM
Joseph Singer said...
What's with none of the Hulu videos being available?
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1-11-2009 @ 5:53PM
Joel Keller said...
Joseph, the videos seem to be working for me. Are you outside the US?
1-11-2009 @ 2:48PM
JennieO said...
I thought this was the best SNL in ages, and NPH is one accomplished, funny guy. He seemed to be having a blast in every skit he did, and all the other players fed off his energy.
I loved his long-nailed traffic control lady. It was probably the accent.
I'm a huge "Penelope" fan, so loved that skit, too. I'm almost always underwhelmed by SNL, so last night was a treat.
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1-11-2009 @ 2:50PM
Katie said...
The line that made me laugh the most was from NPH's monologue when he said at breakneck pace "I turned to my girlfriend and was like 'is he allergic to timing?!' and she was like 'why won't you kiss me?' and I was like 'Later; Look at this guy!' That was a long time ago"
and when talking about Doogie Howser: "which, by the way, was the first TV show created on a dare"
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1-11-2009 @ 4:44PM
Diego said...
Hahah yeah, the girlfriend line cracked me up A LOT. Best line of the night, for me.
1-11-2009 @ 2:59PM
Scott H said...
What's the point of doing a review if you leave out an entire segment, and the best piece in the whole thing, the digital short where NPH plays the "Doogie Howser, MD" theme song?
(Now that I think of it, you also left off the sketch with the 2 First Names talk show, which was just OK)
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1-11-2009 @ 3:11PM
Annie Wu said...
These are just video highlights.
1-11-2009 @ 4:45PM
rahul said...
this was my favorite part of the night. it could only have been better if they had NPH playing all of the instruments. and the single tear at the end made me laugh harder than anything else
1-11-2009 @ 3:28PM
Argus said...
I didn't find it all that great. I don't like it particularly when a show focuses on the main character playing themselves, which is what NPH's was. His monologue was the only thing done really well. I don't understand why everyone thought that the doogie howser thing was so good... It was fan-service, nothing else.
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1-11-2009 @ 3:28PM
Argus said...
Oh, and of course 'Whopper Virgins' was amazing.
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1-11-2009 @ 4:49PM
Ryan said...
Other than the air control ladies, I thought the show was up-and-down fantastic. Just a complete joy to watch.
They must bring NPH back.
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1-11-2009 @ 6:13PM
Joe said...
Gotta love NPH. He was wonderful, and he is the best part of HIMYM.
http://joeonthetube.com
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1-11-2009 @ 6:39PM
Jimmy said...
Excluding Fran & Freba, this was probably the best episode of the year. The Broadway sketch was brilliant, and the Doogie Howser digital short was even better -- an instant classic!
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1-11-2009 @ 10:22PM
djbuhhda said...
anyone know where i can find the pictures of NPH from the show? i'd love to use one of them as a background on my myspace. i think it was like one of the last ones where he was looking towards the ground and i think it was black and white.
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