SNL -- Saturday Night Live -- Anne Hathaway & the Killers -- 10/4/08 -- a Sketch by Sketch Review

Nice little dig at Gwen Ifil for wussing out because of her book. Tina Fey's destruction of Sarah Palin is as great as Chevy Chase's demolition of Gerald Ford. This sketch is nowhere near the gem last week's opening was, but it still has its funny moments. Jason Sudekis needs to work on his Biden impersonation, but the smile was working. Personally, I was hoping for a little bit more on this sketch.

Best line was from Fey's Palin on Gay Marriage: "Marriage is to be a sacred institution between two unwilling teenagers", followed by Palin's confusion about her closing statement, saying, "Are we not doing the talent portion?" One question..... why didn't Fey say "newkewlar?"

Monologue -- Anne Hathaway -- 6

It was funny to hear Anne picking on her own love life with her now convicted boyfriend. Best monologue of the season, but that isn't saying much.

Lawrence Welk Show -- 7

The Lawrence Welk Show? WTF? Does anyone under 35 even have a clue who the hell Lawrence Welk is. Kristen Wiig's disturbing character with baby doll hands made me laugh, though. Still, how many awkward, odd looking people can Wiig play?

C-Span Bailout -- 5

Wiig does a great Pelosi. Fred Armisen's Barney Frank made me spit my Dr. Pepper. The testimonials should have been funnier than they were. The C-Span captions below the sketch were funnier than the sketch itself.

Singles Bar -- 4

Was there a sketch here?

Digital Short -- Extreme Challenge -- Kristen Wiig vs. Andy Samberg vs. a Referee -- 8

Okay, I've given this too high a number, but watching Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg face off in lots of silly competitions with silly music looks like it has the makings of a potential viral video hit.

Killers -- Human -- 8

A good catchy song. Is it just me or does their drummer look like Krist Novoselic and Andy Kaufmann had a baby?

Weekend Update -- 8

Uncharacteristically sharp timing from Amy and Seth this week, with some funny jokes and a stupid song by Will Forte that worked in spite of itself.
Best line regarding the bailout: "That house you couldn't pay for... you're paying for it."

Mary Poppins -- 9

Supercalifragilistic is a liver disease. Who knew. Is it just me or is Anne Hathaway lipsyncing this? A very funny sketch. Where is the Julie Andrews cameo?

Channel 3 News --- Most You Tubed! -- 7

Funny compilation of fake bloopers of the type people tend to pass around on You Tube. Slight, but amusing.

Mark Wahlberg talks to Animals -- 1

Is Andy Samberg on the outs with Lorne? He's not been around much, which is a blessing as far as I'm concerned. This sketch sucked. The premise was the title with Andy Samberg impersonating Mark Wahlberg talking to animals. Dreadful.

Gay Roommate -- 6

What happens if a guy pretends to be gay just so he can live with a pretty girl is the premise of this silly, slight, but amusing sketch. Best part was Bill Hader playing the fake gay boyfriend of the roommate suddenly snapping out of it.

Killers -- 7

Not as catchy as their last song, but still better than the artists that have been on here recently.

Katy Perry -- 2

What was the point of this sketch which had Katy Perry singing variations on "I Kissed a Girl"? Was it to poke fun at a one hit wonder or to fill time. I vote for the latter.

Overall -- 7

The show wasn't great, but a strong Weekend Update and the funny Mary Poppins sketch made it worth watching. It would be nice if SNL would get a few more sharp political writers. It would also be nice if they kept giving Wiig ugly people to play and did more with Jason Sudekis.