Kate's Review
Over all it was a very decent show, I had already prepared myself for slight disappointment because I knew there would be no Will Farrell, and it was quite obvious that they are going to struggle for the next few shows trying to fill the void that he left.

The opening sketch was pretty good, as always Chris Parnell’s Tom Browkaw was dead on, and Darrel Hamond’s Cheyney was hilarious. I was really nervous before it started because I didn’t know what they were going to do with the whole Bush issue, but I think they handled it well(via phone). I liked this sketch, I thought it was a little short, but it was a good way to start off the show.

The monologue was surprising, I’ve never seen them do it like a sketch. It was a good concept, and came off pretty well, Matt Damon was really funny, doing the southern/black accent that Justin Timberlake has acquired lately.

The first commercial parody was awesome!! At first I didn’t know what they were getting at, then the duck started saying “afflack,”  I was like, o that’s lame, but when Horatio Sanz shot it and it blew up, I had hysterical fits of laughter which were made even worse when the NRA logo was shown. Great parody!

When Brian Fellow’s Safari Planet first debuted, I wasn’t the biggest fan, but it started to grow on me, and I really like it now. This one was pretty good, I liked the whole bit about “No dirty talk on this show!” when Horatio Sanz was explaining the mating habits of the porcupine. Tracy Morgan has done a good job with this character, its very odd and original(and funny).

The next commercial parody was even better! They were shooting at carrot top, yes!!!! And I loved at the end when he said “Dude, don’t forget to take the safety off!” good stuff.

I was sooooo glad they had a Sully and Denise sketch, they are in my top 10 recurring characters. While this weeks was awesome(as usual) it wasn’t as good as the one on the Gwyneth Paltro episode last season(at the prom) Matt Damon was great, he’s from Boston, so he did an excellent accent. What else can I say, it was brilliant!

Next came another commercial parody. This was very funny, I cracked up every time he said “anal suppository.” I was really surprised that they had so many commercials, but as long as they’re as good as this one, I don’t mind.

The Hannibal goes to college thing was a pretty good idea and fairly amusing, but what made the sketch was Matt Damon’s dead on Hannibal Lecter impression. And it was really funny to see Hannibal scold his roommates for using the toilet paper, and sing into a hairbrush.

Finally, the weekend update!!! The one thing that will never let you down! And it certainly didn’t this week. It started off kind of slow, but I really liked the Nancy Drew joke, and Seth Meyers and Matt Damon helping Yankee fans through this tough time. I was sort of let down by Jimmy’s lame squirrel joke, but recovered when Tina talked about the American Taliban guy, and him leaving San Francisco for Afghanistan to explore his sexuality, sooo funny. That however was topped by the hilarious black bear joke. “My wife is a black bear!” o man, I almost lost it. Fericito was really funny, I was really surprised to see one of the new guys getting so much air time, but he deserved it, I loved his accent and gold tooth. This was a great weekend update.

The next sketch was pretty mediocre, the whole “My name is Matt Damon too” concept is not really that funny. But, I did like it when they were introducing every body, and all their names sounded alike.

I’m always glad to see a Donatella Versace sketch. Even though I have never really heard Donatella Versace talk, Maya’s impression is soooooo funny, and over the top, it cracks me up every time. Plus the idea of a fashion designer selling hot pockets is pure genius.

I was waiting for an Anna Nicole Smith joke, and Robert Smigel delivered. I thought it was so clever how he made her a smurf. He hit the nail on the head by portraying her as a less than intelligent horny slob who constantly humps random objects. I was so glad to see this parody.

The sexpot sketch was typical end of show fare, it had some pretty funny jokes, but overall not terribly hilarious.

Jeff Richards did a great Dr. Phill impression, he’s got the mannerisms and accent down. But the whole santa thing got annoying.

The final segment really surprised me, it was way too funny to be the very last thing on the show. I loved the parody on both “Good Morning Miami” and the war on Iraq. “Are President Bush and Tony Blair falling in love?” that was good, I also liked “In the event that we don’t attack Iraq NBC will show encore editions of Fear Factor.”  Great way to end the show.



All in all this was a pretty strong show, especially considering that there was no Will Farrell or Ana Gasteyer. I have faith that the show will recover, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.



Well, that’s my review, thanks for listening.

                        -Kate