Jack Black / The Strokes
January 19, 2002
11:30 PRESIDENT DUBYA CHOKES
- Yes! Will Ferrell is back!
- I knew they'd make fun of Dubya's choking debacle from last week.
- The Ferrell and Hammond "Live From New York" cycle contin-- wait a minute... Jimmy Fallon said the opening line! Alright! The Ferrell/Hammond streak is finally broken! And this was Jimmy's first time saying the opening line. It's about time.
- RATING: 3/5
11:33 - OPENING MONTAGE
11:35 JACK BLACK'S MONOLOGUE
- This reminded me a lot of Sean Hayes' monologue. Jack Black was great here.
- RATING: 5/5
11:38 FLENDERSON'S BOWS
- A pretty dull commercial. It just wasn't that funny.
- RATING: 2/5
11:40 RUSSEL PUTNAM, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER
- This reminded me of the sketches from the early 90's where the host would have their own character with an opening sequence like this one. This would be a good one to bring back if Jack hosts again.
- RATING: 3/5
11:47 TALES OF VALOUR
- Wow, this is Darrell Hammond's 4th sketch of the night so far. He hasn't had this much in a long time. He's on a roll tonight.
- I could hardly tell that was Jack with all that make-up he had on, but I knew from his mannerisms that was him.
- Tracy's part at the end was great. I love how the way he always says his catchphrase "HILARIOUS!"
- Great performances by all here.
- RATING: 4/5
11:52 - NEXT TIME: FEBRUARY 2, 2002 BRITNEY SPEARS
Britney Spears? Again? Well, it will be sweeps month (and for the only live show in sweep's month, they could've gotten someone better). When she hosted last time, the show was pretty good, but she herself wasn't really anything that special. She wasn't nearly as pathetic as Jennifer Lopez was at hosting, but she ain't no Garth Brooks or Sting. Anyway, I guess this will be alright. She'll at least be good-looking :)
11:55 THE LUVAHS
- I'm surprised Seth didn't play Amy's boyfriend. They're always playing couples together.
- I'm still not all too crazy about The Luvahs characters. The best installment is still the one with Christopher Walken.
- Jack Black was pretty good here, and brought this up.
- The only thing I like about each Luvahs sketch is the way Ferrell yells about his back pains at the end. His yells get funnier and funnier each time.
- RATING: 2/5
12:01 - FRIENDS PROMO
- What was this? Where was the joke? As far as I'm concerned, this was a real commercial.
- RATING: 1/5
12:02 NOW THAT'S WHAT ACTOR'S CALL SINGING!: VOLUME 1
- I thought Jeff Richards was going to do the Russell Crowe impression, since he kinda looks like him.
- That one guitarist in the background looked EXACTLY like Dana Carvey. I'm talking EXACTLY, but I guess it wasn't him. I remember saying the same thing about that one guy in Derek Jeter's monologue. Must be some crew guy who looks like Carvey.
- Al Roker being known as "Fabulous Big N*gga" was hilarious.
- Oh, there's Jeff. He did a great impression of Kevin Spacey. They need him to showcase his impersonation talents more.
- I always love these impersonation showcase sketches.
- RATING: 5/5
12:08 DUELING GUITARISTS
- Ferrell's facial expressions when playing the guitar were really funny.
- What the??? Anybody notice Tina Fey as one of the people spreading the gossip on the phone? She's very rarely in sketches, and even though this was a very brief part, this counts as her 4th appearance in a sketch playing someone other than herself. This is interesting.
- I was laughing at Tracy Morgan's brief part. Anybody notice him in the luxious clothing, and the rich furniture in the background? That was a funny subtle touch.
- There's Darrell Hammond again. He's really on a roll tonight.
- The entire cast except for Amy Poehler was in this sketch.
- The building blowing up at the end was hilarious, but they should've just ended the sketch like that. The lame "story scroll" gimmick never works.
- RATING: 3/5
12:16 WEEKEND UPDATE
- The Update jokes weren't as good as usual. Tina's Enron rant stood out. Her rants are always hilarious.
- They finally made fun of that stoner from the Dell commercials. It's about time.
- They brought back "I Have An Opinion"? Damn, I was hoping they forgot about that. They're never really good.
- I'm telling you, Kattan is the King of Bizarre Weekend Update Bits. Too bad this part wasn't funny.
- Why'd Jimmy take off his suit at the end?
- Not one of the better Updates of the season.
- RATING: 2/5
12:29 MUSICAL GUEST: THE STROKES
I guess the Budweiser Ad is going to be on at the end of every musical guest's performance.
12:36 - HBO PRESENTS: AMERICA UNDERCOVER
- YES! Kattan and Amy's redneck characters from the John Goodman episode are back. They were hilarious last time.
- This marks Amy's first recurring character on the show.
- Is Dean always going to play the cop who holds Kattan upside-down in these sketches? At least he's getting airtime this week.
- Damn, I only wish Kattan would put some pants on. Everytime, I keep worrying his underwear is going to fall off and we'll be exposed to too much. Now if it was Amy in the underwear
- Jack was hilarious here.
- RATING: 4/5
12:44 HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONG
- There's a lot of musical related skits tonight
- Very bizarre, but hilarious. This was very well done. Jack Black was made for this sketch.
- RATING: 5/5
12:50 JACK HANDEY'S BIG THICK NOVEL
- Handey, I'm begging you, ditch Big Thick Novel and bring back Deep Thoughts.
12:52 MUSICAL GUEST: THE STROKES
12:58 - GOODBYES
OVERALL - An excellent episode. Jack Black was the man tonight, and the best host of the season so far, even better than Hugh Jackman. He really got involved in the show tonight. Overall Grade: 5/5
BEST SKETCH OF THE EPISODE: Happy Birthday Song; Now That's What Actors Call Singing! Volume 1
WORST SKETCH OF THE EPISODE: The Luvahs
MOST BIZARRE SKETCH: Happy Birthday Song
FUNNY BLOOPERS: Again, nothing. There sure haven't been many outstanding bloopers this season
SKETCHES THAT'LL PROBABLY BE CUT ON COMEDY CENTRAL: Now That's What Actors Call Singing; Happy Birthday Song; America Undercover; Jack Handey
CAST MEMBER COUNT DOWN
RACHEL DRATCH: 4 sketches (Flenderson's, Luvah, Guitarists, Birthday)
JIMMY FALLON: 6 sketches (Dubya, Russel Putnam, Tales, Now!, Guitarists, Update)
WILL FERRELL: 5 sketches (Dubya, Luvah, Now!, Guitarists, Birthday)
TINA FEY: 2 sketches (Guitarists, Update)
ANA GASTEYER: 2 sketches (Guitarist, Birthday)
DARRELL HAMMOND: 6 sketches (Dubya, Flenderson's, Russel Putnam, Tales, Now!, Guitarist)
CHRIS KATTAN: 5 sketches (Russel Putnam, Luvah, Guitarists, Update, HBO)
TRACY MORGAN: 2 sketches (Tales, Guitarists)
AMY POEHLER: 6 sketches (Flenderson's, Russel Putnam, Tales, Luvah, HBO, Birthday)
MAYA RUDOLPH: 4 sketches (Flenderson's, Russel Putnam, Guitarists, Birthday)
HORATIO SANZ: 3 sketches (Russel Putnam, Guitarists, Birthday)
DEAN EDWARDS: 4 sketches (Flenderson's, Russel Putnam, Guitarists, HBO)
SETH MEYERS: 6 sketches (Dubya, Flenderson's, Russel Putnam, Now!, Guitarists, Birthday)
JEFF RICHARDS: 5 sketches (Flenderson's, Russel Putnam, Now!, Guitarists, HBO)
A lot of pleasant surprises tonight. Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler, and Darrell Hammond were the stars of the night. Cool to see Seth getting more airtime, Amy's finally getting the airtime she deserves and is fitting in with the cast, and it is very rare to see Darrell in a lot of sketches nowadays. I'm also very surprised that Jeff Richards actually had a lot to do tonight. And Tina was actually in a sketch!
That's my review. See ya next time, kids. I'm outta heah...