Cold Opening – Ask Gloria Allred
I didn’t realize that Gloria Allred has represented that many “victims” (though I assume there was some exaggeration), so it was amusing to discover that. Otherwise, this sketch was just an exercise in coming up with a bunch of ways to describe someone as the worst person alive, which proved to be bland and repetitive. C+

Jane Lynch’s Monologue
“Classically trained guitarist Fred Armisen,” eh? I like it. As for the Glee “theme song” premise, it was a little predictable and that sort of thing has been done before (see Jack Black’s King Kong theme song), but Jane Lynch did perform serviceably. B

Damn It, My Mom is on Facebook Filter
Ah, mom humor. It appears to be endless (cf. the Mom Celbrity Translator). To work, it requires solid performances, which we had with Andy as the frustrated son and Jane as the concerned and mommishly kooky mom. B+

Gilly on Glee
This started out as a perfectly enjoyable Glee parody until it was completely derailed by the entrance of Gilly. Not that I completely hate Gilly sketches; I have always enjoyed Will Forte’s daffy teacher, Kenan’s righteous indignation, Bobby’s wild nervousness, and the goody-two-shoes style of the other character (sometimes played by Abby Elliott). So, I like everything other than Gilly, and as this was not a proper Gilly sketch, we did not have any of those other elements. But we did have plenty of impressions of Glee characters: Kenan’s Mercedes was pitch-perfect (and an obvious casting choice), Andy’s Kurt was factually correct but not terribly amusing, Taran’s Finn was right on but underused, Abby’s Rachel had the right idea but required someone with the singing voice to pull it off, Jason’s Mr. Schuester was halfway there, Fred’s Artie was gonzo and surprisingly appropriate, and Vanessa’s Quinn was one-note and that one note was stupid.  And Sue Sylvester was criminally underused. B-

The New Boyfriend Talk Show
I did not have high hopes for this sketch when it started, but then it hit all the right notes: the revelation that this was the hundredth episode, the brilliant choices for celebrity appearances (who had the stroke of genius to think of Verne Troyer?), and Jason’s gradually rising horror. B+

O’Donnell 2010
The Christine O’Donnell “I’m You” commercial is one of the most insidiously disturbing political ads I have ever seen, so it was no suprise that SNL went after it. Too bad they got stuck on the witchcraft angle. B-

Secret Word
The Secret Word sketches should be annoyingly repetitive, yet somehow K-Wiig’s Mindy Grayson character feels fresh each time she plays it. And Jane Lynch as a Phyllis Diller-type? That’ll work. B+

Digital Short: In a Field
Not surprising enough for a digital short, but with enough satisfying elements to keep it generally positive. B-

Denzel Washington at the Macy’s Returns Desk
When Jay debuted his Will Smith, I thought the impression was solid but the bit wasn’t all that. His Denzel was just as good, but thankfully it was placed in a Denzel impression-friendly context. B+

Bruno Mars performs “Just the Way You Are”
The voice is lovely, the style worked, the performance was right on. B

Weekend Update
-The Jokes: This was the best material Seth has had for as far back as I can remember. The best jokes for his style. B+
-The Segments: -Mark Zuckerberg: So Mark Zuckerberg was played by Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network, and he is played by Andy Samberg on SNL. If this is what Marck Zuckerberg were actually like, people would like him more. B
-Mexican Board of Tourism Member Miguel Conjeros: A Mexican guy pretending not to understand English should not have been this funny, but Fred knows how to play goofy ethnic people. B+

The Suze Orman Show
I feel that the funny of the Suze Orman sketches is supposed to come from her saying outrageous bits of advice combined with her smile, and is that really comedy? At least the give-and-take between K-Wiig and Jane Lynch had solid chemistry. B-

NBC Sunday Night Football
Bill’s Cris Collinsworth was rather strange, and strangely accurate. As for the song, it sounded like something that somebody would come up with while singing about random things to him or herself while watching football, and somehow, it led to a solid comedy sketch. B+

Bruno Mars performs “Nothin’ on You”/”Grenade”
Since Bruno Mars only has one hit single on his own so far, I was wondering if he was going to by himself perform any of the hits that he was featured on, sans B.o.B or Travie McCoy. He did that a little, and then he segued into another of his own, which was about the same as the first performance, except this time he had his guitar. B

Tax Masters
There does seem to be something off about that Tax Masters commercial, so it was ripe for parody, although it was an odd choice to go after the fact that Patrick Cox is only shown in profile (though I will admit that he does look a little uncomfortable). There seemed to be a technical snafu when they cut to Fred as the twin head. C+

Overall
Nothing outstanding, but 7 B+’s. You can’t go wrong with that. Jane Lynch was solid, but a little underused. I’d like to see to her repeat as host, because I do not believe we saw her full repertoire (not that we could see it all in an hour and a half).

Looking ahead to the next new episode, Kings of Leon return to the SNL stage, which served as a coming out of sorts for them a little more than two years ago. With KoL and Kanye, this year’s musical lineup is looking pretty similar to that of 08-09 so far.