Sir Ian McKellen / Kylie Minogue
March 16, 2002
OVERVIEW
I'm coming into this episode with lower expectations than usual, because I don't really care for Ian McKellen, Will Ferrell is still gone, and this is the third live show in a row.
(11:30) COLD OPENING: A Message from Tom Ridge
- I don't know who Darrell was impersonating since I haven't seen this guy, but c'mon, this is Darrell Hammond - I'm sure this was a great impression.
- This was kinda weak, and the fact that I'm really tired of these political openings and Darrell going back to opening every show now didn't help. Even Darrell looks tired of saying the opening line.
RATING: 2/5
(11:35) OPENING MONTAGE
(11:37) MONOLOGUE: Sir Ian McKellen
- I'm glad the SNL band lengthened the theme song's ending a little when the host steps out, because it ended too abruptly the last few times.
- A nice, composed monologue. I'm surprised Ian did it by himself.
RATING: 3/5
(11:40) COMMERCIAL: Classic Kotex Pads
- An absolutely hilarious commercial.
- Amy has been in almost every commercial this season.
- It's good that SNL's still pitching out new commercials this late in the season, especially compared to last season which had repeats galore.
RATING: 5/5
(11:44) SKETCH: Versace Oscar Party
- I had a feeling they'd do this sketch tonight with Ian McKellen hosting. I love Maya's Donatella Versace impression.
- They found a way to write in Ana's pregnancy into a sketch.
- Another good Versace sketch, but nowhere as good as the one from the Hugh Jackman episode.
RATING: 3.5/5
NEXT TIME: APRIL 6, 2002 CAMERON DIAZ/JIMMY EAT WORLD
I'm looking forward to Cameron Diaz hosting again. She hosted the very first episode of SNL I ever saw, the 1998-99 premiere, and that episode was excellent.
(11:53) SKETCH: The Delicious Dish
- Oh, no. Why are they bringing this back? I never liked this sketch, and I was hoping we'd never see it again after Molly Shannon left last season. I thought Rachel's new character would only be used as a stretch to bring back Schwetty Balls with Alec Baldwin.
- The only Delicious Dish sketches I liked were the one from the Sean Hayes episode in which they got high on mushrooms, and of course, Schwetty Balls.
- Rachel's character in this is a lot like her Sheldon character from the Wakefield sketch, she uses some of the same mannerisms.
RATING: 1/5
(12:00) TV FUNHOUSE: Fun with Real Audio Oscar's Greatest Moments
- Man, Smigel has GOT to drop these Fun with Real Audio's. He has nothing new to offer anymore with this format.
RATING: 1/5
(12:03) SKETCH: Hot Air Balloon Mystery Theatre
- A really weak sketch. The only part I laughed at was when Parnell was trying to run away from the detective in the small air balloon space.
- Dean Edwards makes his patented useless appearance of the night.
RATING: 1/5
(12:10) MUSICAL GUEST: Kylie Minogue
(12:16) WEEKEND UPDATE: Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey
- Ian McKellen's bit was hilarious, especially when he started hitting on Jimmy.
- Jimmy's ad-libs after Ian kissed him were hilarious.
- Weekend Update Secret Joke was funny. I like all these little random segments Update has nowadays.
- Rachel's bit as Paula Jones was great, I remember Rachel first did her Paula Jones impression on the Presidential Bash special.
- I forgot all about Jeff's impression of Louie Anderson. He does it in his stand-ups, and did it on Mad TV once. It was good to see it again. Lately, SNL's finally been letting Jeff's impersonation talents shine. There may be hope for him returning next season after all.
- Finally, no Kattan. This is the first Update without him since all the way back to the Ellen DeGeneres Update.
- All in all, an excellent Update.
RATING: 5/5
(12:29) SKETCH: Turkish State Television presents The Ferey Muhtar Talk Show
- Very rare to see Horatio starring in a sketch. This kinda reminded me of the Frankie DeRoza sketch, and I think he was even wearing the same suit he wore in that sketch.
- This sketch was awful, and the only thing that saved this sketch was when Darrell's fake moustache started to peel off, and Ian ad-libbed and fixed it for him. Darrell kept cracking up for the rest of the sketch then Horatio started breaking too. Then Darrell's moustache fell off completely by the end of the sketch, and he was in hysterics, and Ian made more funny ad-libs. That was an outrageous blooper and I love when goofs like that happen on SNL. The same thing happened with Horatio's moustache in the second Rap Street sketch.
RATING: 1.5/5 (Darrell's moustache saved this)
(12:39) SKETCH: The Life and Times of Charles Dickens by Edmund McGrave
- A really lame premise, but Ian's performance saved this. This went on way too long, though.
- Who was that who yelled "Finally!" when the sketch ended? Was that somebody in the audience, or was that supposed to happen?
RATING: 2/5
(12:49) MUSICAL GUEST: Kylie Minogue
(12:54) SKETCH: Kevin and Richie's Comic Book Zone
- Yet another weak sketch, saved again by Ian McKellen.
- A poor way to end the show, but at least it wasn't another lame Big Thick Novel bit.
RATING: 1/5
(1:01) GOODBYES
CONCLUSION: A very poor show, and probably right down there with the Drew Barrymore episode as my least favorite of the season so far. However, I have to give props to Ian McKellen. He did a much better job hosting than I thought he would, and saved a lot of weak sketches with funny performances. Overall Rating: 1.5/5
BEST SKETCH OF THE EPISODE: Versace Oscar Party
WORST SKETCH OF THE EPISODE: Kevin and Richie's Comic Book Zone; Hot Air Balloon Mystery Theatre; Delicious Dish; The Ferey Muhtar Talk Show
MOST BIZARRE SKETCH: The Ferey Muhtar Talk Show; Edmund Grave
BLOOPERS: Darrell Hammond's moustache peeled off during the Ferey Muhtar sketch, and he laughed his way through the rest of the sketch
SKETCHES THAT'LL PROBABLY BE CUT ON COMEDY CENTRAL: The Ferey Muhtar Talk Show; Weekend Update; Edmund Grave
CAST MEMBER COUNT DOWN
LADY McDRATCH: 4 sketches (Classic Kotex Pads, Delicious Dish, Hot Air Balloon Mystery Theatre, Weekend Update)
SIR McFALLON: 1 sketch (Weekend Update)
SIR McFERRELL: 0 sketches
LADY McFEY: 2 sketches (Classic Kotex Pads, Weekend Update)
LADY McGASTEYER: 4 sketches (Classic Kotex Pads, Versace Oscar Party, Delicious Dish, Hot Air Balloon Mystery Theatre)
SIR McHAMMOND: 2 sketches (Tom Ridge, The Ferey Muhtar Talk Show)
SIR McKATTAN: 2 sketches (Versace Oscar Party, Hot Air Balloon Mystery Theatre)
SIR McMORGAN: 1 sketch (Classic Kotex Pads)
SIR McPARNELL: 2 sketches (Hot Air Balloon Mystery Theatre, Edmund McGrave)
LADY McPOEHLER: 3 sketches (Classic Kotex Pads, Hot Air Balloon Mystery Theatre, Weekend Update)
LADY McRUDOLPH: 3 sketches (Classic Kotex Pads, Versace Oscar Party, Hot Air Balloon Mystery Theatre)
SIR McSANZ: 2 sketches (The Ferey Muhtar Talk Show, Kevin and Richie's Comic Book Zone)
SIR McEDWARDS: 1 sketch (Hot Air Balloon Mystery Theatre)
SIR McMEYERS: 3 sketches (Classic Kotex Pads, Hot Air Balloon Mystery Theatre, Kevin and Richie's Comic Book Zone)
SIR McRICHARDS: 2 sketches (Classic Kotex Pads, Weekend Update)
Nobody in the cast was used that much, but Ana Gasteyer and Rachel Dratch were the stars tonight. It's about time Rachel gets a lot of stuff to do, she's really been badly underused this season, and I never thought Ana would get this much airtime with her pregnancy. Jimmy Fallon was only used in Weekend Update tonight, which is really unusual for him. Even Tina Fey (who's apparently making appearances in sketches regularly now, which is great!) had more sketches than he did.
Will Ferrell will be back in the next live show, and I can't wait to see him back. Hopefully, he'll go back to being the star of the show, since in his last few episodes that he actually was in, he still wasn't used in much sketches as usual due to his busy movie schedule. I said this before a million times, but I hope they bring back Idiot Doctor. That sketch is dying for another return.
Thanks for reading my review. See you next time. I'm outta heah...