Cold Opening – Debate
I admired the tactic that they chose of Obama being distracted by forgetting his anniversary and the elevation.  But the execution didn’t match the premise. B

Daniel Craig’s Monologue
I admired this premise of an unusual monologue and appreciated Craig’s enthusiasm.  But the pacing was bizarrely off.  Didn’t he kill anyone in Layer Cake? B

Construction Workers
Oftentimes in scenes in which someone has trouble with saucy language, the joke is that he is unfamiliar with the subject.  But Craig’s character seemed familiar with lady parts; it’s just that his phrases were so strangely arranged.  It was something to make someone with a love of language swoon.  Bobby’s face was hilariously frozen in response to one of Craig’s lines.  The flashback to Dad getting shot was incredible. B+

Bond 50 – Bond Girls
My only complaint: more please!  Cecily and Aidy didn’t get to play anyone!  (Was anything deleted?  Post online, please.)  Vanessa’s Diane Keaton was the tops. B+

MSNBC: A Look Back at the Obama Debate Disaster
Did Al Sharpton say “blackstage” at one point?  Anyway Kenan’s Al made up some goofy stories that gave a few laughs, Jason’s Chris was exhausted and exhausting, and everyone else just looked on. B-

Long Island Medium
My favorite part was Cecily as the Long Island woman who was totally unfazed by a medium coming up to talk to her in the grocery store.  I also enjoyed the part where everyone had a relative named Sal who choked on a meatball. B

Vessel Artemis
I laughed – loudly – the first time Bobby said that he missed his kitty cat.  Then that turned out to be the whole point of the sketch.  Umm … not the best idea. C

Muse perform “Madness”
When Muse first appeared in 2009, the intimacy of the SNL stage really cramped their epic style.  I had hopes, though, that if they were to perform “Madness” – a synthy change of pace – they could make it work.  I wasn’t expecting an iPad-bass.  But, indeed, it did work.  It started burning slow, really kicked in with the solo. A-

Weekend Update
-The Jokes: Seth actually had a few good zingers.  The Zombie Walk/New Jersey joke worked.  Eh, New Jersey. B
-The Segments: -Winners/Losers: Good job finding the silver lining for Jim Lehrer.  Shirtless Biden – gotta love it. B
-Big Bird: When does Big Bird’s stand-up tour start? B+
-Cecilia Gimenez: This was kind of stupid, a little racist (luckily it was too ridiculous to really be racist), but I couldn’t help but laugh every time Kate said, “Gimme my money!” B+

A Sorry Lot We Are
The dedication to the working-class Irish milieu was impressive, but ultimately this sketch was just as dreary as its subject.  The “poofter convention” bit was solid. B

Carl and Regine
Fred Armisen throwing out bitchy insults and acting all faux-cosmopolitan is not a sketch – that’s just hanging out in the hallway! B-

Muse perform “Panic Station”
Is that a Red Hot Chili Peppers influence I detect?  Yeah, mix it up! A-

Low-Information Voters of America
The silly questions made me laugh again. Original Grade: B+

Overall
This was one of those rare episodes in which the musical guest significantly improved the episode.  Instead of the episode being a little bland, Muse made it so that I was happy to have watched it.  I was hoping that Craig would be a host in the vein of Alec Baldwin or Jon Hamm – someone who could parlay his seriousness for comedic purposes.  But he was rather visibly enthusiastic and a little too willing to go silly.  Interestingly enough, though, his best performance of the night – the Construction Workers sketch – was also perhaps his silliest.

Instead of the best sketch this week, I got to post a Muse performance: