Go figure: after last week's star-studded season premiere alum-affair failed on about all levels, "Saturday Night Live" would redeem itself handsomely and show signs of growth just one week later.
Forget about Amy Poehler, Justin Timberlake, Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon - all first-time host Bryan Cranston needed was an in-house cast committed to stepping up their halt and a musical guest who'd have no trouble topping the giant cleavage spectacle of last week's guest Katy Perry.
The Emmy-winning star of "Breaking Bad" held his own with board to spare, buoyed by two Kanye West performances that's still got people talking.
Hope sprang directly from the standard cold-open political skit, which was mercifully short and surprisingly funny - centering on Andy Samberg's comic portrait of Rahm Emmanuel, outgoing White House chief of staff. Fred Armisen returned as Obama for the start time this season, something we're glad to see remain under his command (we'd heard troubling rumors that newcomer Jay Pharoah would carry over the role - which would've been a dreadful idea).
During the monologue, Bryan Cranston reminded viewers that he's been a working actor for 30 years, though most only know him as the dad from "Malcolm in the Eye" and his latest, the Emmy-winning "Breaking Bad". Cranston admits he's not a family name, "but I remember that smell is near to change," he says, before entry into a "Medicine Man" musical act with the male members of the cast - who can't get his name right for the spirit of them.
Cue two hilarious (and again, mercifully brief) skits, one a spoof ad for Pepto Bismol Ice ("Got me off the toliet and on the dance floor!") and another, "The Miley Cyrus Show," featuring Vanessa Bayer absolutely nailing the obnoxious chipmunk-faced teen queen. Points to Cranston as dad Billy Ray Cyrus, who keeps telling Miley how big she is. "You're like a pretty little George Lopez." Paul Brittain's dead-on effect of Johnny Depp (promoting his and Tim Burton's adaptation of Goodnight Moon) give us new desire for the recent cast addition as well.
A little Morgan Freeman goes a long way, and his show on Keenan Thompson's recurring "What's Up With That" sketch was deadpan hilarity. Nevermind Ernest Borgnine's outdated inclusion or Bill Hader's always-bumped Lindsey Buckingham slot - Jason Sudekis' leaps into frame to do the working man every time Keenan interrupts the evidence to establish back into song are what keep us laughing time and time again.
After last week's abominable "Booger Man" Digital Short, the bar wasn't exactly high for Andy Samberg to surpass himself, but he hit this one out of the commons with "Rescue Dogs". Hiding under his bed as two intruders loot his house, he hits an iPhone app for Emergency 911, but like most of these goddamned apps it has an obnoxious pre-content ad that takes forever and ends up ordering pizza and spamming his friends as the robbers continue their pillaging.Helen Mirren makes a blink-and-miss appearance, and we were laughing too heavy to discover the start time through.
Kanye, ever the showman, eschewed the normal SNL music delivery for a good performance art piece in his two songs ("Power" and "Runaway") that featured a bevy of beautiful women framing poses as he draped a golden crown on his mind and dominated the visually stunning performances. The songs have been played to end by this point, but the performance made all the difference - this is one Kanye appearance that we'll remember without cringing - a welcome change.
After a meh-worthy "Weekend Update," Cranston returns as a pedophyllic host of a 1972 kids's game show, insistent on being overly physically affectionate with his underage contestants.While the other children awkwardly and reluctantly comply, one small daughter from Detroit, Janele (Thompson), knows just what is passing on and wants no voice of it. Truly creepy and beyond the point of inappropriate, but we can't help but laugh at the prolonged kisses between Cranston and Sandberg.
Prepare for a brain-tick of a call that you'll most likely absolutely despise. before falling in bed with. You'll hate it again in an hour when you can't get it out of your head, but all the same, I'd care to acquaint you to The Bjelland Brothers, and their "Sparkling Apple Juice" song. Instant classic:
Perhaps the episode's most side-splitting moment is the iSleep Pro, which allows users to set their alarm clock to "Black People Noise" which includes the familiar sounds of muffled Tyler Perry sitcoms, an old lady complaining about foundation problems, domestic arguments, bass jams, and of course, the film Friday. It's so wrong, it's only right.
Cranston deserved a little more glare than he received on the show, as he's one of the more talented hosts we've seen on SNL in a while. All the same, Saturday's episode was a damn sight better than the season premiere, giving us trust that maybe, just maybe, King Lorne Michaels may not receive his mind so far up his own ass this season that he's not capable to see how ill his show needs fine-tuning.
This Sat we'll see comic actress Jane Lynch (from "Glee")and Bruno Mars as host and musical guest, respectively. This should be interesting.
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