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Episode Recap: Christopher Walken Hosts, Panic at the Disco Performs
Hello, again! It's Erin Fox, and I hope you had a lovely little break from SNL the last few weeks. I actually had a life last night and saw some theater, so that's why this is coming to you the day after the show. So, what did you guys think of Christopher Walken? I'm a big fan of his past performances on the show, but as some of you said in the blog last week, his last few hosting gigs have been kind of... stale. I know "The Continental" sketch has been overdone, but I'm sorry, it cracks me up every time. Let's see what they come up with for Mr. Walken tonight.
Cold Opening
A screen reading "Hillary for President" flashes across the screen. Darrell Hammond and Amy Poehler play Bill and Hillary who discuss having to release their tax return information under scrutiny from Obama's campaign. Hillary says they made about $109 million in the last five years. Most of that coming from what "Bill loves to do most: Talk to people." Bill agrees by saying, "That is what I love most in the world: Talking to people... and nothing else." Heh. Hill and Bill continue to mock the tax return inquiry by reminding us that the sums they were paid to write their memoirs were published in every paper... so it should be no surprise that they are rich. It's pointed and snarky, and I love it. The best part is when Hillary says, "So I think at this point I think it would be in the best interest of the party for me to step aside for the Obama campaign. Psych! That's never gonna happen." Ha!
Roll opening credits....
Monologue
Walken says it's his 100th time hosting... ha ha. He's going to answer questions from the audience, but to make sure they're good, he wrote them himself. The first question is "Which do you prefer, acting in movies or live performances?" Walken thinks this is a great question! He answers, and the next question (which he wrote, remember), "What is your favorite color?" He berates the woman who asked his question for such a lame request, saying "That was a stinky question." The next question is, "What do you like to do when you're not on camera?" Walken bristles and says, "Please don't come at me with questions about my intimate behavior." LOL. He continues, "I have a question for you: You should be ashamed of yourself!"
Annuale Commercial
We've already seen this brilliant commercial about year–round birth control during Tina Fey's hosting episode. It still makes me laugh so hard, I had to pause the TiVo to regain my composure. "When you finally do get your period, hold on to your f--king hats." HA!
Grease Sketch
Walken wears a hilariously bad wig as a musical theater director of Grease who is worried that the show's lyrics are too dirty. Andy, Keenan, Bill and Jason are the high school kids in the production and they launch into "Grease Lightning," and Walken stops them with, "Whoa!!! The chicks will what (cream)? That's dirty! Do you know what that means?" Andy whispers in his ear, and Walken says, "Yep that's it, congrats. Tell your friends, they want to know." Hee. Walken chooses another ridiculous rhyme for 'cream' that makes no sense. This continues until the song is so completely unrecognizable, it's pathetic. Yet funny.
Goodbye Office Party Sketch
Jason's leaving a company and they're throwing him a goodbye party. Walken plays that creepy guy... you know you all have one at the office... that kind that thinks he knows you really well. So Walken approaches Jason at the party and tells him how sorry he is that Jason's leaving. Actually, you can see he has a very scary one-way man crush, bodering on stalker relationship with poor Jason. He says things like, "You're so positive. You're like a breath of fresh air, or a moist towelette after a large delicious plate of ribs." People from the office come over to say goodbye, but then leave quickly as to not interrupt his time with Walken. Jason pleads with them all not to leave, that this guy is a freak. But, no one listens and it just escalates in awkwardness. Including that Walken made him a mix CD and a painted portrait. Jason is really skeeved out now, and it keeps getting worse. At the end as Jason runs to escape the psycho, Walken says, "Part of me wants to let him go, and part of me wants to run after him in the parking lot, come up behind him and choke him to death. Then make love to his corpse for the rest of my life." Wow, that just got disturbing on so many levels, yet I'm laughing.
SNL Digital Short
Bill and Andy barge in on Lorne Michaels at a dinner with Senator Dodd to talk about their newest digital short. Lorne knows what it is already: Laser Cats. This is the weirdest sketch ever, yet because they intertwine stuffed animals with real cats and a pug puppy I couldn't help but chuckle. They are basically playing laser tag but the cats shoot the lasers. Weird, right? But funny. And the pug puppy is so damn cute!
Surprise Party Sketch
Kristin Wiig is the star of this sketch, wearing a dorky wig and awful sweater, she plays a woman that gets ridiculously excited by helping throw Walken's granddaughter a surprise party. She freaks out over every detail, and literally looks like she's about to explode. This turns into a Mary Catherine Gallagher meets the Target lady sketch. She bashes a bottle over her head and crashes through each window from her excitement. My husband cracks up at this sketch, but I find it funny at first, and then annoying. Although crashing through the window is always chuckle-worthy.
Panic at the Disco Performs
Fun and upbeat with their band dressed in high school band uniforms. That's just mean.
Weekend Update
Amy begins with the Clintons tax return story, saying that their income was mostly from Bill's speaking engagements, book deal and stud fees. HA! She continues with the Olympic torch arriving in Beijing, and immediately suffering an asthma attack and dying. Hahahahah. Two for two, Amy! Seth nails his first joke about Hillary comparing herself to Rocky: A washed up, over-the-hill contender who despite a Herculean effort, is soundly beaten by the charismatic black guy." Well played! Andy comes out as the pregnant guy who was on Oprah. He invites Amy and Seth to his baby shower. He says there will be lots of beer and even a stripper... who is also pregnant because it's a celebration of life. Seth is grossed out, until Andy says, "Do you want to feel my stomach?" Seth says, "Oh my gosh, I feel it kicking!" Andy ruins it by saying, "No, that's my dong." They are on fire tonight! Bravo!
Family Reunion Sketch
Every cast member wears a Walken wig, and sports his accent/speech pattern. This is the funniest sketch of the night. Hader's "Walken" is the best, but everyone puts in an A+ effort. It's just so awesome.
Plant Expert Sketch
Walken plays a plant expert who's "very scared of plants." He's in another ugly wig and spraying water on his plants from a distance. The cacti all have "Googily eyes" on them, which is so weird, but really goofy, so it makes me laugh. I'm realizing that most of the laughter is not about the actual skit, but about Walken's delivery of all his lines. Genius.
Top Chef Sketch
After the success of the Project Runway sketch, the team decides to spoof Top Chef. Walken plays a chef who clearly has no idea what he's doing, just wants to talk to the other contestants. The ingredients they have to use to make pizza are really funny: Beets, cous cous, stale peeps, etc. Walken is fully reading the cue cards, which is my biggest pet peeve about the show. I know everyone does it, but he's not even shy about it.
Panic at the Disco Performs
What is there to say? They are fun and sound good.
Larry King Sketch
Fred plays Larry, and Darrell plays Jimmy Carter. This guy is the master of all impersonations. The voice is dead on, as is the stiffness is hilarious. I wish Fred would play Larry more clueless... you know, like he is in real interviews.
And... scene! I mean, end of show. Hope you enjoyed Walken as much as I did. Next week Ashton Kutcher will host and Gnarls Barkley will perform. What did you think about this week's show?
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Apr 6, 2008 11:50 AM
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I know Christoper Walken is a good actor, but I found him unwatchable. He showed no personality, and he was a cue card fiend.
I didn't watch this episode as studiously (or masochisticly) as a normally do, since I was 1) doing a school project 2) playing video games 3) preparing for a college visit and 4) watching SNL. I'm a good ADD multitasker. Then again, I really don't have too much to say about the episode anyways...
Panic! at the Disco confuses me. The first album made them famous through "emo-rock" (the second song they perform was from the first album), yet their latest album and both song were relatively passive. Hmm.
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Apr 6, 2008 12:24 PM
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I felt so sorry for the cast, particularly Jason, because Walken never made eye contact with them once! It was very disconcerting. Walken cannot really enjoy the experience of working live, if he cannot even be present in the scene. That said, I did laugh more than I expected too. The boys actually sang well together. Laser cats sucked me in against my will. BTW, when are they going to get Bill Richardson on?
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Apr 6, 2008 3:00 PM
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I thought Walken was oddly hilarious as usual.
But yes, his eyes were glued to the cue-cards.
Over-all a good show, but sketches dragged on WAY to long, as usual.
Although Laser-cats was a re-tread, I thought they freshened it up a bit with more examples of very BAD F/X.
I go along with-
I wish Fred would play Larry more clueless... you know, like he is in real interviews.
Now if he had asked President Carter how his re-election campaign was going, THEN I would have bought FA as Larry King!!
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Apr 6, 2008 3:20 PM
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Dear Erin. Why was Walken so unable to avoid looking at the cue cards? Was he not at the rehearsals all week? Isn't he a skilled actor or does the audience not care how boringly he said his lines? Is that his M.O? Glad I was able to fast forward some stuff but Wiig's sketch was funny but I rarely let out a chuckle perhaps a slight smile. I've only been watching SNL since its creation and wish it could capture the hilarity of years gone by. Bring back Billy Crystal as host a few times. No one could be better and maybe Martin Short or Dana Carvey. That would be a terrific idea. Good think I thought of it. They are just not using the actors to their best talents but I'm still going to record every new episode forever. Now I will watch Madtv from last night and see how they compare.
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Apr 6, 2008 4:56 PM
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Walken's always been a cue card reader, ever since the first time he hosted. Check out some of his older sketches on Hulu; it's always there. It's why they like to build sketches around him staring straight at the camera (i.e. The Continental).
Personally, I've always felt that the cue card thing is part of his charm. He's always playing total oddballs, so it even kind of makes sense for him never to make eye contact with other characters. Plus, I've always felt that he makes up for it by delivering the lines in his patently oddball manner. I mean, only Walken could make that indoor gardening sketch as hilarious as it was.
With all that said, I'm disappointed that we didn't get to see The Continental.
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Apr 6, 2008 10:30 PM
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No Continental! 
Walken has definitely lost a step as SNL host over the years. I used to really look forward to him coming on, but lately he's been more and more disappointing. Still, I wonder if it's more a function of the current cast and writers, which have really become a stale act in the past couple seasons. I think Lorne might need to overhaul the show once again, like the last time in 1996 when he got rid of everyone except Tim Meadows, I think, from the previous year's cast. That 1996-1997 season was awkward, since no one knew Will Ferrell, Cheri Oteri, and the others, but they grew into it and were running on full cylinders by 2000, and even before then were getting progressively funnier each season.
This show needs a serious shakeup.
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Apr 7, 2008 3:10 AM
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Best "Weekend Update" in ages. The wife and I were howling.
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Apr 7, 2008 9:51 AM
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OK, I hate to "hate" on one particular performer, but I was into the Walken family reunion until Keenan came on stage. It seems to me he really only has one persona/delivery. Every character he plays appears to me to have pretty much the same vocal qualities. Don't get me wrong, I like the guy, but he needs to work on his range a little.
Laser cats again? Was it funny the first time around? Different strokes, I guess.
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Apr 7, 2008 3:06 PM
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this episode reminded me why I tivo everything and rarely watch in realtime any more. Christopher Walken was terrible. His eyes NEVER left the cue cards and he was so totally uninvolved with the skits. I liked a lot of the weekend update. and I liked the clinton tax sketch, but most of the rest was boring.
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Apr 7, 2008 4:02 PM
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First off, I disagree with the notion that we needed another Continental skit. We did NOT. Further Continental skits only serve to diminish the earlier good ones.
Now, as Walken gets older, maybe he can start playing the Incontinent-al.
Secondly, I have to agree with bmp956 about Kenan. After several years on the show, he still has an amateurish quality. It's time for him to go.
A few quick comments:
Hillary & Bill opening skit - SNL has been getting lots of accusations of pro-Hillary bias, and in my opinion, this skit did nothing to dispel that notion. The basic theme of this bit was "people (i.e. OBAMA) were so silly to want to see our returns -- EVERYBODY knows we're rich!" But the real question is, if everybody already knows everything, then why did they stonewall on releasing them for months and months? That's the real stumper, isn't it? I think that approach would have made a better basis for a skit, but they don't do that kind of Hillary-bashing skit anymore -- at least, not while they're trying to get her elected.
Monologue/Q & A - Pretty funny, perfect for Walken.
Grease rehearsal
and
office farewell party - These were so-so skits, but all I could think was, "What is the deal with Walken just staring at the cue cards?!?!?!?!?" I'm glad to see that other people -- both on this thread and others -- had the same reaction.
Digital Short: Laser Cats 3-D - I know this is awful for me to say as a cat owner, but I’ve loved all of the Laser Cats shorts -- and this one was no exception! I laughed a lot -- and the bizarre inclusion of Chris Dodd was funny, too!
Planning a surprise party - Awful. This is SNL at its rock-bottom worst -- overlong and seemingly devised with the sole intent being to annoy the audience. I used to like Kristin Wiig, but I'm re-evaluating that on a weekly basis.
Weekend Update - In addition to the stuff already mentioned, I laughed out loud at the Madonna/New York joke and the “Germany out-Germans itself” joke.
Walken family reunion - It went on for at least two family members too many. And I have to disagree -- I thought Samberg's Walken was better than Hader's. Hader had the physical traits and tics, but the voice wasn't right.
Indoor Gardening Tips from a Man Who’s Very Scared of Plants - Moronic. Only for people who think "weird" automatically makes something funny. More power to you.
Top Chef - At least this was funnier than the Project Runway skit a few weeks ago.
Larry King/Jimmy Carter - Kind of funny, because there's truth behind it -- Carter DOES write way too many piffly books! But I agree that the Larry portrayal was way too tame -- which is a problem that SNL has developed in general. What ever happened to the truly biting, jugular-grabbing hatchet-jobs on celebrities and politicians? Come on -- we need that now more than ever.
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Apr 7, 2008 6:03 PM
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SNL lost me a few years ago but I have watched the Tina Fey show a couple of weeks ago and then was looking forward to the Christopher Walken show. This is usually "the" episode to watch but I too found it pretty un-spectacular. And there was no "The Continental"! That is why I love Christopher Walken. That and "I need more cowbell". But nada! Weekend Update was great but that was it!
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Apr 8, 2008 11:05 AM
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