How’s it honking? (CREDIT: NBC/Screenshot)

Jeff “jmunney” Malone watches every new episode of Saturday Night Live and then reviews all the sketches and segments according to a “wacky” theme.

Hello, People of Reality! If you’re reading this in a storm-affected region, thank you to the Electricity Gods for not knocking out your power. Anyway, it’s time to discuss yet another fresh episode of Saturday Night Live. This one features the hosting debut of newly-minted Oscar nominee Teyana Taylor. Before her acting career really started taking off, I knew her best for dancing in a music video and winning The Masked Singer. Has anyone else ever discovered that they would be up for an Academy Award while in the midst of prepping for some sketch comedy?

Rounding out the lineup for this episode are musical guest Geese, a group of cultishly adored rockers who (just like Ms. Taylor) originated in The City That Never Sleeps. I’ve yet to explore most of their discography, but I’m ready to dive in.

And because Geese are the musical guest, my Review Gimmick shall be Honking. So I might grade sketches out of a certain number of Honks, or perhaps I will express my enthusiasm or lack thereof with approving or disapproving Honks.

1st Annual Trumps: I bet that Brain Tumor is Honking all the time, isn’t it?

Teyana Taylor’s Monologue: I give Teyana’s Fuzzy-Forward Mono-Outfit 3.14 out of 4 Honks.

Flight Delay: My chuckle over the idea of a “Mel Gibson Terminal” could reasonably be described as a Honk.

One Battle After Another Action Figures: So imagine this: what if instead of saying their lines from the movie, these OBAA plastic playthings just Honked a bunch of times? That would be pretty funny, wouldn’t it, don’t you think?

NFL on ESPN: I give the final acknowledgement that in fact there are no more NFL games on ESPN this season 5 out of 5 Honks.

Confidence Class: Plenty of Honks of Approval for this sketch! What a wonderfully weird, but also thoughtful, concept and execution.

Geese, “Au Pays Du Cocaine”: Since I’m reviewing the sketches in a Geese-inspired manner, should I then grade Geese on a scale of Taylors? Hmm, maybe one day. For now, I’ll stick with the Honking. Honestly, though, this isn’t the sort of band whose sound is likely to make you think of a chatty flock. But they’re doing their own thing and killing it more or less. Weirdly enough, this particular Geese song does sound like “That’s Amore.”

Weekend Update: The Jokes: Before I continue to be all wacky, I feel compelled to note that Michael and Colin were talking about subject matter that requires a much more serious response. (Please resist authoritarianism!) But in the spirit of having an important silly reprieve, I’ll get back to it and say that that joke about Stevie Wonder and the Plaque might just be enough to make you lose control so much that Honks start spilling out of your lungs.
Weekend Update: Marcello Hernandez (Gen-Z Translator): What would “Honk” mean if that were Gen-Z slang? Maybe it already is, and we just haven’t noticed yet. Something to think about…
Weekend Update: Mr. On Blast: Those were definitely some Honk-ish style beats that Mr. On Blast was blasting out to.

Grandpa at the Wedding: I give the Concept of Microwaved Steak 1 out of 7 Honks.

Backstab Island: Maybe Teyana’s character could make friends with her fellow contestants by Honking at them, and they could be all, “What’s with this Honking Lady?”

Geese, “Trinidad”: This song kind of had a “Steadily Unwinding in the 80s” rhythm to it. Again, not very Honk-y, so Geese totally un-living up to their name.

Beyond the Headlines: Any time anyone ever makes a joke about AI meaning “Allen Iverson” as opposed to “artificial intelligence” should be punctuated by a sound as obnoxious as a Honk.

Blowing It: I give the criss-crossing mind of Martin Herlihy 9-point-Infinity out of 67 Honks.

Okay, well that wraps up another Saturday Night Assessment. We’ll be back for one more rendition before NBC goes all Super Bowl & Olympics Mode in February, as Alexander Skarsgård and Cardi B kick it out on January 31.