Saturday Night Live -- Review of the 9/24/11 Episode of SNL - Alec Baldwin / Radiohead

OPENING -- Fox Debate -- 8

A funny political skit in which Alec Baldwin plays Rick Perry as a bumbling guy who can't say anything without alienating his base, including comparing Rachel Maddow to Jesus Christ. Jason Sudeikis plays Mitt Romney, who says "thanks to Newt Gingrich, I have a normal size human head." Kristin Wiig plays Michele Bachmann as completely clueless, even when her husband hints at his own sexuality. A great political opener for a change.

MONOLOGUE -- Alec Baldwin -- 8

Alec talks about surpassing Steve Martin's record while belittling everything Steve Martin. Steve shows up to ask Alec to do a drug test with his expert on drug use, Seth Rogan, to make sure his record breaking wasn't done under enhancements. Great start to the season.

RED FLAG -- 8

This perfume commercial has Kristin Wiig playing a woman whose every biographical detail is a Red Flag that you shouldn't go out with her. Funny narration by Alec Baldwin and by killing the audio on her, they make Wiig's performance as a crazy woman funny.

ALL MY CHILDREN WRAP PARTY -- 6

Alec Baldwin plays Cornelius Devaunch, the first stage manager for AMC at the wrap party for the show. The party becomes a soap opera parody as various backstage personnel announce the drama that unfolded back stage. It's amusing, but seems taken from an old Carol Burnett routine.

EYE ON BUFFALO -- 8

A morning show parody with Alec Baldwin as the male anchor and Abby Elliott as the female anchor. The show takes a turn when they go to a reporter in Costa Rica who is on a satellite with a huge delay and who has so much botox she can't feel the insects and animals crawling all over her. Very silly and very funny.

RADIOHEAD -- LOTUS FLOWER -- 7

A minimalist performance from the band. Not bad, but not my cup of tea.

WEEKEND UPDATE -- 5

Alec Baldwin pops in to play Tony Bennett in a good impersonation as a wacky rambling old man stuck in the past, and Seth Meyers gives us his weekly roundup of lame jokes poorly delivered.

Funny line: "PETA announced plans this week to launch a new porn website to help raise awareness of veganism by mixing images of naked women with animals suffering. The worst part is that some guy somewhere heard this and went, 'Finally!'"

WHO'S ON TOP -- 8

Premise: A game show about who would be on top hypothetically if two celebrities had gay sex, including Timon and Pumba from Lion King, and Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen. The explanations of how the contestants reach their answers are hysterical, and the Oprah Winfrey joke had me laughing hysterically. Crude premise done well.

TOP GUN -- 25th ANNIVERSARY EDITION -- 6

The cast and Alec Baldwin reinact screentests from various celebrities including Al Pacino, Natalie from the Facts of Life, Alan Alda, and more. Alec's Pacino is funny, but this would be funnier if SNL hadn't done it before.

CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST -- 5

Alec Baldwin plays a child psychologist who won't deal with his daughter (Nasim Pedrad) during a dinner date with Vanessa Bayer. His daughter continues to act out with more and more outrageous actions while he ignores her. The screaming child bit is not any funnier than it has been the past 37 years, but at least the ending has a twist.

RADIOHEAD -- STAIRCASE -- 7

Not a big fan of the electronic trippy moody sound, but it's good for what it is.

ANGELS IN THE TRENCHES -- 8

A "classic" war movie in which soldiers tell their fellow soldier their dying wishes, including telling a son there is no Santa Claus, and telling the surving soldier his mother is "fat". Another goofy but very funny sketch.

OVERALL -- 7

A great opener, monologue and at least a few funny moments in each sketch make this a promising start for the new season. It's a little disconcerting that there is no real turnover in the cast, but the writing was sharper than normal, the cast seemed to be more refreshed than they usually are, and the show had laughs. Of course, next week may be the beginning of a downhill slide.