Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
WINTER FORMAL
Sully & Denise see friend (AMP) while crashing old high school’s formal
— Good to see both the return of the Boston Teens and (especially) Rachel Dratch.
— Ah, Rachel-as-Denise’s fake ID has the name Evelyn Chang, which is actually a callback to the fake ID Denise used in some of the previous Boston Teens sketches from back in the day. Nice continuity, which is one of the things I’ve always liked about this recurring sketch. The continuity these Boston Teens sketches typically contain also add to their realistic, almost-slice-of-life-ish atmosphere.
— I like that SNL has appropriately aged these characters tonight instead of keeping them the same age they used to be.
— These characters are coming off as funny as ever tonight, and the fun vibe of this revival of them is so infectious, which is raising the quality of the sketch.
— Amy Poehler cameo. Now it’s truly starting to feel like the early 2000s again.
— We even get a “Nomaaahhh!” callback.
— An excellent energetic LFNY delivery from Jimmy.
STARS: ****
MONOLOGUE
JIF sings “Christmas Baby Please Come Home” variant to mark return to SNL
— You can tell how much it genuinely means to Jimmy that he’s standing on this home base stage as the host. Again, much like with the cold opening, there’s a very infectious feel here.
— Jimmy: “So many memories: Barry Gibb Talk Show…Debbie Downer…Cowbell. (a beat) I laughed and ruined all of those sketches.” A great self-deprecating line, though to nitpick, he never laughed during any of the Barry Gibb Talk Show sketches. He gets so deep into character in those sketches that he refrains from his usual habit of cracking up.
— The infectious fun feel continues as Jimmy takes his Christmas song backstage. A rare instance of me being fine with this era doing a musical monologue.
— I love Jimmy calling attention to the still shots of two SNL Christmas classics on the monitors: Merry Christmas Dammit and Schwetty Balls.
— After Andy and Vanessa’s scene, there’s an unintentional laugh and charm from seeing Andy and Vanessa in the background quickly rushing past the camera in hopes that we can’t see them, as they get into place for their next bit in this monologue.
— Good gift exchange bit with Lorne, or, as Jimmy calls, “the white-haired gentleman”.
— Oh, as if this couldn’t get any more fun, now this ends with the entire cast energetically dancing onstage behind Jimmy.
STARS: ****½
TODAY
Regis Philbin (JIF) walks on set to join Kathie Lee Gifford (KRW)
— Surprisingly, this is the first appearance this recurring sketch has made in two seasons. This also ends up being its final appearance.
— Nasim takes over the seemingly-cursed Hoda Kotb role, and breaks the curse by not getting fired after this season like the previous two Hoda impersonators, Michaela Watkins and Jenny Slate, got after their respective one season on the show.
— Hoda, regarding the fake applause that Kathie Lee played from a tape recorder: “Okay, that was fake.” Kathie Lee: “So was your boyfriend.” Hoda: “No, I mean it was an electronic device.” Kathie Lee: “So was your boyfriend.”
— Nasim is fine in the Hoda role, but I still feel that Michaela did it the best.
— Interesting seeing Jimmy doing a Regis Philbin impression. He’s doing a solid job, as no surprise, as I’ve always found him to be a good impressionist.
STARS: ***
MICHAEL BUBLÉ CHRISTMAS DUETS
musical guest performs Christmas duets with Sting (JIF) & other artists
— Hilarious turn during the Bublé/M.I.A. duet, with Nasim’s M.I.A. suddenly pulling out a gun and firing gunshots in the air in time to the music.
— I love that Jimmy’s doing impressions of various celebrities in this. His Russell Brand impression is particularly spot-on.
— Fred’s Thom Yorke impression is easily one of the funnier things he’s done in this rough season of his.
— Such a fun impression showcase, and a big improvement over both of the impression showcase sketches from the preceding episode.
STARS: ****
DRESSING ROOM
JIF mulls upcoming onstage moves while talking to self (ANS) in mirror
— A sketch in the vein of the Mick Jagger mirror sketch that Jimmy and Mick Jagger once did 10 years prior.
— I think I recall hearing that Andy did this Jimmy Fallon impression in his SNL audition. I recall hearing that Taran also did a Fallon impression in his audition, but we end up never seeing it on SNL.
— Andy’s impression of Jimmy is far from spot-on, but it’s still acceptable, and it’s helped by Jimmy exaggerating his own voice to sound like Andy’s impression. I wonder if Jimmy learned that move from what Jerry Seinfeld did with him when they did a Point/Counterpoint together, with Jimmy doing his Seinfeld impression. As I mentioned in my review of it (seen here), Jerry let Jimmy know beforehand that he would exaggerate his own voice during the Point/Counterpoint to match Jimmy’s over-the-top impression of him.
— Speaking of Seinfeld, I like the bit with Andy’s Jimmy not being able to do the Jerry Seinfeld voice that Jimmy just did.
— Andy’s Jimmy: “We’re not doing [The Barry Gibb Talk Show], ’cause Timberlake couldn’t make it.” PRAISE THE LORD.
STARS: ***½
1920’S HOLIDAY PARTY
at a 1928 party, (JIF) is as reluctant to dance as Lilia is to sing
— Our first speed bump that tonight’s great episode hits, as we get the unnecessary return of the weak Don’t Make Me Sing sketch from two seasons prior. Did Jimmy request this sketch when he came in earlier this week, because I can’t think of any other reason why they’d randomly bring this one-off sketch back after a two-year absence.
— As a strange coincidence, the only two episodes this sketch has appeared in (the season 35 Jon Hamm episode and this) both happen to be episodes that Michael Bublé is SNL’s musical guest in.
— Jimmy’s performance is fun here, at least, though I don’t care for the “Don’t make me dance” conceit of his character, much like how I’ve never cared for the “Don’t make me sing” conceit of Kristen’s character.
STARS: **
HALF JEWISH HALF ITALIAN COMPLETELY NEUROTIC
Tommy Palmese’s (FRA) amateurish one-man show is self-centered
— Fred previously did a fantastic one-man-show bit in the Morning Announcements sketch from the season 31 Dane Cook episode, and even wore what appears to be the same wig he’s wearing in this commercial (screencap of him in the Morning Announcements sketch below), but that Morning Announcements sketch was years prior, back when Fred was still in his prime, long before he became stale. We’ll see how tonight’s one-man-show bit goes.
— The interaction between Fred and an uncomfortable Bill is making me laugh.
— Spot-on bit regarding Fred’s character opening his play in a corny manner by casually pretending to be a janitor onstage.
— Good bit regarding the bathroom behind the stage.
— I love the brief part with Fred inappropriately pointing a fake gun at the audience and yelling a threatening, psychotic “You think I’m losin’ my mind NOOOOOOWWWWW?!?!?!”
— Overall, for late-era Fred Armisen standards, I found this to be surprisingly pretty good. Between the Thom Yorke bit and this, Fred’s having one of his better nights in these later seasons of his SNL tenure.
STARS: ***½
SEASON’S GREETINGS
upon returning to SNL, HOS, CHK, TRM, JIF perform a happy Christmas ditty
— Hell yeah! I absolutely love seeing the return of this. If you remember my reviews of the early 2000s era, I was always a sucker for these bits.
— Tracy! Chris! A thin Horatio! Speaking of Horatio’s leanness, boy, does it feel weird to now see him 1) as thin as his good friend Jimmy, and 2) thinner than both Tracy and Chris are at this point.
— I was going to say it feels a little odd seeing this bit being performed on SNL’s 2003-present home base stage for the first time, after all of the previous appearances of this bit were performed on SNL’s 1998-2003 home base stage, but then I remembered we previously saw them do this bit on SNL’s 2003-present home base once, in the season 29 Janet Jackson episode. (Twice if you count the installment of this bit that Horatio did with the Muppets in the season 30 Robert DeNiro episode).
— Overall, this was just as much of a blast as this bit always was, especially after such a long absence.
STARS: ****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Holly Jolly Christmas”
WEEKEND UPDATE
Jude Law [real] learns Nicolas Cage (ANS) isn’t selective regarding roles
Weekend Update Joke-Off- JIF & TIF battle SEM & AMP on lap dance topic
— Kinda interesting seeing Andy’s Nicolas Cage impression tonight, given the fact that, earlier tonight in the Dressing Room sketch, both Andy and Jimmy were doing some of the same celebrity impressions in unison. If it weren’t for this Get In The Cage segment, Nicolas Cage might’ve been one of the impressions Andy and Jimmy did together in the Dressing Room sketch, given the fact that Jimmy previously did a Nicolas Cage impression in a Celebrity Jeopardy sketch.
— Funny reveal from Andy’s Cage that he never reads the scripts of his movies beforehand, and thus, he finds out about the surprises in his movies at the same time as the audience.
— The return of the Weekend Update Joke Off segment, and with it, we get Jimmy, Amy, AND Tina Fey returning to their old Update stomping grounds.
— The WU Joke Off segment between the Fallon/Fey & Poehler/Meyers duos is so fun. I even love the little detail of Seth, Amy, Jimmy, and Tina each making various fake buzzer sounds whenever they ring in.
STARS: ***½
BEETHOVEN
Beethoven (JIF) introduces orchestra members at Ninth Symphony premiere
— A very fun and solid premise of Jimmy’s Beethoven introducing his orchestra the way a hip, more modern singer would introduce their band.
— Great bit with Paul as a Hitler ancestor.
— Jimmy’s Beethoven, on one of his orchestra members: “Funny story – his mother was killed by an ox.”
— Jimmy is navigating this sketch so well.
— There’s our obligatory Fallon/Sanz interaction, of course resulting in a little bit of giggling from Jimmy. Even that feels surprisingly nice to see again after a long absence.
— Ha, Triangle Sally out of nowhere.
— A solid inclusion of Kenan as B.B. King.
STARS: ****
WAR HORSE
low-budget War Horse (JIF) production confuses theatergoers (BIH) & (KRW)
— A promising concept with Jimmy ridiculously having to act out the part of a horse during a War Horse play.
— Jason’s old-timey song is hilarious, made even funnier by Jimmy incongruously doing The Robot in the background during it.
— I love the voice Bill’s using.
— Now this sketch has gotten even funnier with the boy in the play now being played by a hand puppet.
— A delightfully stupid sketch so far.
— A very funny little bit with Taran making his voice exaggeratedly fade as he walks away while saying “Good luck, English booooyyyyyy…”
STARS: ****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
LOCKER ROOM
Jesus (JAS) accepts Tim Tebow’s (TAK) credit for the Broncos’ win streak
— Good premise, even if it feels a little derivative of the premise of the sketch where Phil Hartman as Jesus visited a constantly-praying housewife played by Sally Field.
— Something about the deep voice Kenan’s using is tickling me.
— Andy’s Matt Prater, to Jesus: “Wow, you pray to me? I didn’t know that.” Jesus: “Well, yeah…that’s ’cause I’m not in everyone’s face about it. (*stares down Taran’s Tim Tebow*)”
— Jason’s casual, laid-back portrayal of Jesus is absolutely top-notch.
— I like Taran-as-Tebow’s various overexcited reactions to Jesus.
— A funny parting line from Jesus: “By the way…uh, Mormonism: all true, every single word.”
— It’s fairly rare to see a host-less live sketch like this in this era. I think I recall hearing Jimmy was originally supposed to play Jesus in this sketch, but at some point during the week, he stepped down from the role for reasons I can’t remember. I can’t picture Jimmy making this Casual Jesus characterization anywhere NEAR as great as Jason did. Jason was just perfect for this characterization.
STARS: ****½
GOODNIGHTS
JIF, musical guest, special guests & cast members end the show from Rockefeller Center skating rink
— Ice skating goodnights, for the first time in several years! Always fun to see.
— I absolutely love how Jimmy’s wearing a bee costume, as an homage to the original SNL era. Given the scope of this SNL project of mine, I love whenever something on the show gives me a throwback to when I reviewed the original era, back when my SNL project first started. It makes me realize just how far I’ve come within this project. At this exact same time two Novembers ago, I was reviewing the original era, and now, in what feels like no time, I’m already reviewing episodes from as recent as 2011. Wow.
— This is actually the second time Jimmy closed an episode by wearing a bee costume, as an original SNL era homage. The first time was not during a regular episode, but rather a Fallon & Fey-hosted John Belushi tribute special that aired sometime in March 2002 (back when Jimmy and Tina were current SNL cast members), around the 20th anniversary of John’s death.
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A fantastic episode, and is one of the most consistently solid episodes I’ve ever reviewed. Even though no segments in this episode got a perfect five-star rating from me, a lot of segments got an impressive high rating, particularly in the post-Weekend Update half of the show, where nothing got a rating below four stars. And there was only one segment all night that I didn’t like (1920’s Holiday Party). Adding to the strength of most of the segments was the infectiously fun, Christmas-y, feel-good vibe running all throughout the night, helped a lot by Jimmy Fallon’s very energetic presence. Even Michael Bublé’s musical performances went along nicely with that fun, Christmas-y, feel-good vibe, with the traditional Christmas classics he performed.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Monologue
Locker Room
Beethoven
Winter Formal
Michael Bublé Christmas Duets
War Horse
Season’s Greetings
Dressing Room
Weekend Update
Half Jewish Half Italian Completely Neurotic
Today
1920’s Holiday Party
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Katy Perry)
a big step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
We enter the year 2012, with host Charles Barkley