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Third Time With Charm

This episode is the third time that Lithgow stepped in as host and as I've already made clear, I'm a huge fan of this man because of his resume and the fact that he kind of reminds me of my favorite uncle and look forward to every time that he's on.

Unfortunately, like every other episode from this season, this show was a bit of a letdown in that the performances were perfectly fine and I found each sketch to be entertaining but I wouldn't say that the airing was all that funny as I never felt the urge to laugh. At the same time, this viewing never felt like a chore like it has been during less successful seasons.

Though I don't mind this season at all, I hate the fact that it's making me sound like a broken record because these shows aren't good enough to inspire customized praise while at the same time they're not bad enough for interesting criticisms.

It doesn't help that I put this review off so late in the day due to some early morning drinking and I rushed to get things done rather than giving this review my undivided attention that it deserves.

Oh well, they can't all be gold, sometimes all you can do is try your best and move on, so with that, it's now time to shift gears as I give you...

The Wicker Breakdown:

This week's show started with a parody of The Oprah Winfrey Show where Jan Hooks plays skinny Oprah in her dressing room having cartoon-like hallucinations where she sees people as food due to the fact that she's so hungry. She then goes on to actually host the show where these hallucinations continue and we see food headed guest bicker about their family's problem until Oprah eventually attempts to get a segment producer who to her looks like a giant piece of chicken that yells, "Live from New York..."
John Lithgow then officially opened the show with a monolog about being excited to host for the third time and how he feels the show has genuinely helped his career. He then goes on to explain that he fears that he has an unintentionally sarcastic tone as he sarcastically reads a Thanksgiving note before grabbing a guitar and playing a tune with G.E. Smith.
Long White Beard was a fake ad for a novelty product to emphasize how long you've been waiting in any situation where someone shows up late.
St. Bernard's Church was a sketch where Lithgow plays a priest who works a confession booth for bad dogs.
John Lithgow the reunited with the Master Thespian for another meeting of the minds between two masters in the art of ACTING. I look forward to this sketch whenever Lithgow is signed up to host.
Tracy Chapman then took to the stage to perform Mountains O' Things.
The Pat Stevens Show then returned for another installment of more of the same and still can't understand why they turn to this sketch so often when it was never funny in the first place.
Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, Dana Carvey dropped in as Jimmy Stewart to read a poem about his dog. Jon Lovitz also stopped by for a segment about himself.
The Alamo was a sketch about the titular battle that parodies the armies decision to fight to the very end despite being the underdogs at the time and for some reason everyone from Tarzan to aliens from outer space where involved in the decision making.
Tracy Chapman then returned to the stage to perform Freedom Now and Baby, Can I Hold You back to back.
Keister Family Thanksgiving was a sketch that took place after Thanksgiving dinner where the men of the family are so stuffed that they can barely move so they settle in to watch the Thanksgiving football game while burping and farting their bloated bellies away while the women of the family continue to bring them food.
Skeleton Phobia was a sketch where Lithgow played a college professor at medical school who is deathly afraid of skeletons to the point where he can barely do his job
Finally, John Lithgow closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

Sorry for such a lackluster review but I just need to get this done so here are my three favorite moments. First, I loved Lithgow and the Master Thespian because I love these two ACTING together. Next, I really liked the Skeleton Phobia sketch because I like the idea of a medical teacher being afraid of his educational prop. Finally, I was a fan of the Saint Bernard's Church sketch because there were a few funny moments with Lithgow interacting with dogs that almost got me to laugh out loud.