or...

So-So Host, Solid Show!!!

I couldn't care less about baseball or any other sport at this point in my life. Hell, even when this episode originally aired, I was only interested in the San Diego Padres simply because they were my hometown team and that's who my family was rooting for. With that said, I never really cared about George Steinbrenner so I had extremely low expectations when I saw that he was the next on the list of hosts.

Even though I'm now three episodes into this new season, being that I watch the show daily I still feel super close to the letdown that was season fifteen which makes me feel extra surprised when a so-so host actually puts on a pretty good show. So far, this season hasn't been all that exciting as far as hosts go but unlike last season which had much bigger names, I've yet to feel let down by the overall content of any of these new episodes.

I wouldn't say that this episode lands anywhere near the top of my list of favorites but other than the sexual harassment sketch, which didn't age well at all, I found myself entertained and focused throughout the entire show. This is a nice change from last season where I was often bored to the point where I couldn't help but turn to my phone as soon as I thought my sketch summary was complete.

With three good episodes in a row, all with so-so hosts, I can't wait to see how the rest of the season will play out. Until then, it's now time to move on from my insights and share what I actually saw, as I give you...

The Wicker Breakdown:

This week's show started with Kevin Nealon and Victoria Jackson entering George Steinbrenner's dressing room to wish him luck for the night only to find the old coach taking a nap on the couch. We then travel into the host's head for a sketch called Steinbrenner's Dream where the Yankee's coach is in the World Series playing every position on the team. He then wakes in a panic to announce, "Live from New York..."
George Steinbrenner then officially opened the show with a monolog about how there are two types of host for Saturday Night Live, entertainers, and beloved figured from other walks of life and how he falls into the latter category, partially to lower the crowds expectations but more importantly he uses this as evidence to show that he is actually beloved.
Middle-Aged Man then made his triumphant return to show Dana Carvey and Chris Rock how to jump-start a car in the sketch's intro. He then goes on to advise Jan Hooks and Victoria Jackson on how to tell if Jan's husband is actually having an affair with the help of his new sidekick named Drinking Buddy who is played by Chris Farley.
We then went to a Convenience Store where there are more cashiers than customers. Phil Hartman plays the supervisor who walks the floor then heads back to the manager's office to talk to George Steinbrenner who plays the store manager, about cutting down on the staff. This apparently took place when Steinbrenner was big on firing his staff and players because he seemed to make a lot of inside jokes about how horrible a manager would have to be to fire anyone even if they aren't working for what's best for the team.
Slapped By Beaver Tails was a talk show sketch where Mike Meyers interviews a panel of guests who were all slapped by beavers.
We then got a fake ad for the Winston-McCauley Funeral Home whose biggest promise is that they guarantee that no one from their staff will have sex with the dead bodies that they prepare for burial.
The Time then took to the stage to perform Jerk Out.
Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, Chris Rock returned to talk about the upcoming Holyfield vs Douglas fight and how he was surprised Holyfield was favored to win considering Douglas beat Tyson which was unthinkable at the time. This was followed by a bit of his stand-up routine that covered various unrelated topic which he calls himself out for by the end of the bit. "Tom and Roseanne" also checked in via satellite to discuss the recent lawsuit where the couple was suing a tabloid magazine for an incident they were involved with at the time.
Attack Of The Colossal Lincoln was a Godzilla-like sketch where the Lincoln monument comes to life to destroy Washington D.C. due to the fact that the Government was shutting down following a disagreement over how to handle the budget.
This was followed by a fake Slim-Fast Ad where George Steinbrenner is teamed up with a bunch of dictators to share their weight loss stories thanks to the Slim-Fast product. About halfway through the sketch, George breaks the scene to question why he is being aligned with this group of evil leaders.
The Time then returned to the stage to perform Chocolate where Morris Day finished the performance by dropping the f-bomb when asking "Where the fuck did this chicken come from... I ordered the ribs," to finish out a routine that was worked into the song.
"What Was I Thinking?" was a panel discussion show with Phil Hartman as the host who asks his famous guests what was going through their heads when they made notorious bad choices in their careers. His guest included Shelley Long who left Cheers, Walter Mondale who promised to raise taxes as part of his presidential campaign, and George Steinbrenner who got breast implants, in the world of the sketch.
We then went to a fancy restaurant for a sketch called Fancy Meals where Steinbrenner is on a double date where the two men end up battling over who is going to pay the tab and Steinbrenner eventually wins but isn't gracious at all about his victory as he treats everyone else at the table like a bunch of mooches for not even attempting to chip in.
We then went to Steinbrenner's office for a sketch called Harassing A Female Reporter, where Jan Hooks is there to complain about being harassed in the locker room during an interview only to be harassed by George as well.
The Vision Of Van Gogh was a parody profile of the famous painter that shares the secret to his style impressionist style was due to the fact that he couldn't see all that well.
Finally, George Steinbrenner closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

As I said up above this episode was far from an all-time favorite but especially like it because it's the first show in a long while where it was actually simple to find these three favorite moments of the night. First, I loved the return of Middle-Aged Man because I loved the character on his own and now love him, even more, thanks to the addition of his Drinking Buddy sidekick. Next, I really liked the Slapped By Beaver Tails sketch because it was so random that I couldn't help but laugh. Finally, I was a fan of Attack Of The Colossal Lincoln because I've always been a fan of giant monster movies like Godzilla which was the influence for this sketch.