Christopher Walken/Panic at the Disco

Season 33, Episode 10, Aired

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Live from New York, it's... Darrell Hammond and Amy Poehler! Sketches include "The Clintons' Income," "Annuale," "Grease Rehearsals," "Kevin's Farewell Party," "Laser Cats 3-D" (Digital Short), "Excited Sue," "Walken Family Reunion," "Indoor Gardening Tips," "Top Chef," and "Larry King Live." Panic at the Disco performed "Nine in the Afternoon" and "I Write Sins, Not Tragedies."moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (8)

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  • Walken was completely unprepared, but the sketches seemed a bit underdeveloped as well. Given Walken's illustrious history with SNL, this episode can only be thought of as a disappointment.

    6.0
    "Fair"
    By FarleyRules, Oct 15, 2010
    Bill and Hillary cold open - So the joke is that the press is stupid because they didn't know the Clintons were wealthy all along? It was executed very clumsily and they only moment that was smirk worthy was Bill's remark, "nothing more," while casting sidelong glances at Hillary. Grade: C-

    Monologue This was the best monologue of the year IMO. The question and answer sessions have been done numerous times before, but this was the first time they have had the host submit the questions to be asked. Walken milked the pregnant pauses so that you didn't know if he was going to berate or congratulate the audience member asking the question. Perfectly suited to Walken's style. The show looks very promising at this point. Grade: A+

    Grease Rehearsal Grease is not unique among musicals in that it features racy lyrics, but it has always struck me as a little funny that so many high schools perform a musical which is essentially about getting laid. Obviously somebody at SNL thought that was a funny too. Unfortunately, not everything in life that makes you grin will be good enough material to fashion a sketch. This is one of those ideas better left alone. Repetitive and boring, this sketch never found its groove. Grade: C-

    Farewell Party This is the type of sketch that gets written specifically for Walken. The "creepy guy" sketch. There were some good moments, especially the bathroom remembrances and the mix CD, but Walken seemed determine to tank this sketch by never looking Sudeikis in the eyes and staring only at his cue cards. Still, Walken is the ultimate "creepy guy" so it wasn't all bad. The tongue in the ear was definitely the highlight. Grade: B-

    Laser Cats! 3D digital short Laser Cats is probably one of those things that you either love or hate. I fall into the former camp. This one was the best installment yet. All of kinds of references to the evil James Bond villain to the Star Wars impossible shot and subsequent awards ceremony. The horrible effects, cheesy costumes, literal names, and derivative story were all perfect. Sure it looks like the work of high school students. But, that's the point. Grade: A+

    Surprise Party A feature for Kristen's ultra-excited personality. She does a great job with this type of character, but the sketch just got old very quickly. And with this type of sketch there is no good way to end it. Jumping out of the window twice is not really a great ending. Walken was still glued to the cards. Grade: C

    Weekend Update A much shorter and improved WU. I really like that there was no guest commentator (or two) tonight and the jokes were very crisp. The appearance by Andy was enjoyable and much better than a Kenan-in-a-dress segment. My favorite WU of the year and I hope they keep this format. It clocked in at just 7 minutes, which is about half the time of some of the longer WUs. Grade: A

    Walken Family Reunion An excuse to have the entire ensemble show off their Walken impression. I thought Amy did the best, but I couldn't even tell what Andy and Kenan were trying to do. Since it relied solely on impressions, and most were just so-so, this did not do much for me. Grade: C

    Indoor Gardening Tips Walken always seems to get a solo piece and this was tonight's. I get the feeling that was written just so we could hear Walken say "googly eyes" over and over again. The writers probably heard him say Google and laughed their butts off and had to find a way to get him to say google on the show. Or maybe I'm just dreaming. Original? Yes. Good? Not particularly. It was really more in line with what they great Phil Hartman used to do. Even with poor material, Hartman could have slam-dunked this one. This Grade: C-

    Top Chef Those cooking shows like Iron Chef can be somewhat entertaining to see what they create with the specified ingredients. Unfortunately, I think they are more entertaining than this sketch. I would have rather seen Walken at least attempt to create something rather than whine to everybody that he can't cook with those ingredients. He could have whipped up something that gave the arrogant judge food poisoning. The sketch would end with Armisen curled up on the ground clutching his stomach. Now THAT would be funny. Grade: C-

    Larry King I guess President Carter writes a bunch of books that nobody reads. Who knew? Apparently nobody, since they are not being read. An OK sketch primarily because I think Armisen does a good job portraying the buffoonery that is King. Grade: B-moreless

  • This show can use a little more cowbell.

    5.0
    "Mediocre"
    By SNLfan4life, Oct 05, 2010
    Cold Open: Alright, we know now that Jim Downey thinks **** Is the New Black. Someday he can go back to poking fun at the candidates instead of pulling punches.

    Monologue: Chris Walken certainly doesn't have to perform a song-and-dance monologue, and sure enough this Q-and-A bit suited his style well. That said, you can't help but wonder WHY things got changed. Perhaps his dancing shoes didn't fit his old feet anymore.

    Grease rehearsal: The Cowbell-style sketch of 2008, Walken just can't help but interrupt music rehearsals with his own input. This time, though, he's forced to carry the weight of the entire sketch. The writing was fine (a Gene Rayburn reference!), but not stellar, kinda lukewarm.

    Office stalker: An improvement, the host gets a good opportunity to interact with Sudeikis in a good setting. Liked the singing, Jason's controlled desperation, and the souvenir that will likely be displayed on the living room wall when Jason becomes a movie star and Cribs stops by.

    Digital Short: I loved the first one, and I loved the second one. Laser Cats! 3D was just too similar, with the low-budget jokes really becoming stale. The Chris Dodd cameo was nice, but Walken's appearance was obviously wasted.

    Surprise Party: Oh god. Kristen gasps louder than her Publisher's Clearing House character, and any hints at realism are almost immediately killed by the stupid plot.

    "Nine in the Afternoon": Panic at the Disco may very well see one of the great Mass Fan Exoduses (Exodi?) of 2008, but this is at least a catchy tune with appropriate Classic Pop influence. So it was fine.

    Update: Nice and short. I just wish that Andy's bit was cut out (how on earth did people think that was funny?), and that Seth could lose some of the ego. The camera posing at the end was way too much.

    Walken Family Reunion: SNL should know better than anyone that Less Is More. Trim the sketch to just Chris, Bill, Amy, and maybe one other castmember, give them each a few more lines, and the sketch turns from hollow to solid.

    Indoor Gardening Tips from a Man Who's Very Scared of Plants: Finally we come across the pure Walken sketch. This was quite funny, of course, perhaps the best of the evening overall. Proof that a good sketch can be made after a pitch of "we get Walken to say 'googley-eyes.'"

    Top Chef: Is there a clause somewhere that SNL can only parody Cable TV shows? I mean, most of the good ones are on cable, but that's no reason to avoid the broadcast networks entirely. Anyways, a solid impression from Kristen here, but nothing else works. Is that the best premise they could come up with? That a contestant was just kinda stumped?

    "I Write Sins Not Tragedies": Brendon Urie was "pitchy," to use a completely original word. And I don't think their attempt at a low-key version of the hit single completely clicked. But Fun with Censorship, as "goddamn" becomes "ahh-damn."

    Larry King Live: Darrell Hammond's 1000th-or-so solid impression, and another one that's been buried at the end of the show. Liked the idea, though, seeing as we should all be buying Carter's books, but I totally have no interest in reading them.

    Certainly the weirdest show of the season, as I kinda expected, since there were some laugh out LOUD moments just with Walken's delivery alone, despite a sea of lousy writing and some laziness from the cast.moreless

  • Walken hosts.

    7.0
    "Good"
    By thefanof, May 26, 2010
    Christopher Walken, one of the best character actors and comedic voices of our generation, hosted tonight. While he is essentially a parody of himself at this point, that does not mean he cannot still be funny from time to time. He brought back Laser Cats, this time in 3D and while it was far from the best of the series, it was not as bad as many trilogies out there. These googly eyes was not exactly riveting entertainment, nor was the mass impressions of him during the family reunion, but it was kind of funny in a silly way. This was a silly, but still kind of enjoyable, show.moreless

  • Whoa! That's Dirty!

    5.5
    "Mediocre"
    By whoaitsconner, Feb 18, 2009
    This week for SNL, we had Christopher Walken host for his 100th or so time. Oh, it's 7 times. But, anyways, musical guest this week was "Fall Out Boy" sound alike, Panic At The Disco. All SNL fans knew they were guaranteed some twisted, funny humor.

    Clinton Campaign: Another Hillary sketch. Now, everybody is saying "another pro Hillary sketch?" SNL is not pro-Clinton! We don't have much on Obama, so Hillary is much easier to impersonate. Anyways, this sketch was a dudder to the max.

    Monologue: Very creative. Questions that Chris wrote. His reactions were great.

    Annuale: repeat. But the crowd seemed to like it more. I.E: after Casey's line, "That's All I have time for."

    Greased Lightening Rehersals: Creative. At first, I thought Christopher was playing a pervert who wanted the kids to whisper dirty things in his ears.

    Office Good-byes: Another creative sketch. The ending was funny, but it was longer than it should have been.

    Laser Cats III: Okay, we've lost it with Laser Cats. It was funny the first time around, and by the second time, the saliva was coming off the envelope.

    Sue: This was hilarious! Kristen once again was great! Jumping out the window, coming back in, and jumping out again!

    Update: Consistant tonight. Andy as Thomas Bettie was funny.Best joke of the night goes to Madonna on Vanity Fair.

    Walken Get together: All the impressions were good. It was a good way to get all the repertory players (sans Seth) in. The energy really never got climatic.

    Googly Eyes: It freaked me out at times with the googly eyes, and the sketch never reached all energy.

    Top Chef: Kristen was good at impersonating the host. Walken once again was hilarious. Buut, the writing was just plain lazy.

    Larry King Live: When I saw the logo come on, I was cheerful, because of how fine the Brian Williams version did. This sketch absolutely went no where. It wasn't funny, and there was really no joke.

    Christopher Walken had his eyes glued to the cue cards, but that's his reputation, so you kinda love him for that. Panic At The Disco performed some song I have no interest for, and another song that's about 3 years old now.

    Tonight's episode was underwhelming. While a few sketches, like Sue, Grease Lightening, and Chris's monologue, were hilarious, most of them had no energy. After the wonderful February/March episodes (save for Adams/Weekend), we had a dudder.

    Next week: Ashton Kutcher returns.... April Fools...? Gnarls Barkley also makes their debut on SNL. Excited for that!
    moreless

  • Sketch by Sketch Review

    8.3
    "Great"
    By FloridaGator115, Apr 11, 2008
    Pre-show: I'm really excited for this one. We haven't had Walken host in I don't know how long, but I'm glad to have him back after a series of unimpressive hosts. He has been the staple of SNL classics like The Continental & More Cowbell so tonight I'm not expecting any less. It should be a major relief from the last three unimpressive episodes. As for Panic at the Disco, I haven't heard any of their latest stuff but their first album was pretty good so I'm interested to see them live.

    Cold Opening: Yet another Clinton opening. They really need to change this up a little. The first couple Democratic Debate sketches were great, but they started to fall flat from the 3AM phone call from the Amy Adam's episode and tonight. I just don't thing Poeler is that great as Hillary. The only saving grace for this is Darrell's Bill. The emphasis on his "speaking engagements" had me laughing. I also chuckled at Hillary's "psych" about her dropping out of the race. But as for next week, I hope they get some new material for the Clinton's.

    Monologue: Well this is an interesting move. I was almost positive that there would be the usual Walken song/dance monologue, but instead he ditched it to take questions from the audience. Usually, this move is pretty lame, but I liked it this time. I got really into it once he admitted he had written them himself. His answers were hilarious, especially the flight/invisibility question, and him refusing to answer what he does when he's not on camera. I didn't mind the change in monologue format since it was equally funny as his previous ones.

    "Grease" Rehearsal: What a great start to the episode. Walken was great in this, especially with his "That's dirty" lines. I was cracking up the whole sketch. The editing was hilarious also especially Gene Rayburn & "flocks, flocks, flocks." Amy's frozen looks as Mrs. Hash and Walken telling the student to shut up were also highlights. I've heard people are comparing this to the Cowbell sketch, and I don't think it's quite to that level but it's easily the best sketch we've had in a while.

    Eric's Goodbye Party: It's the second sketch of the night and I've already determined that this is one of the best shows of the season. This is genius, and it was interesting to see Walken play this kind of role. I loved the portrait and him stating he did it from memory. The writing was great, and Walken was the icing on the cake. Sudekis was also at the top of his game on this. I loved seeing Walken as the stalker, and the whole thing had me falling out of my seat.

     Laser Cats! 3D: I've never really gotten into these, and tonight wasn't any different. It's the first sketch of the night that was a snoozer for me. If they had a little more Walken it might have brightened the horizons for me, but this didn't impress me much. Seeing Dodd cameo was cool though.



    Sue & the Surprise Party: Sounds like SNL is setting up another recurring character for Wiig. And just like the others, it's funny enough, but it just really gets old fast, and before you know it you cringe seeing it because it has gotten so annoying. Hopefully they won't overuse this because even just seeing this once, I can tell that it would fade out quick. But for a one-time character Kristen did alright, and she had me laughing a few times. I liked Sue jumping out of the window and breaking the glass against her head to shut herself up. Walken didn't bring in any laughs as the straight man, which was a shame. Overall it was nothing special, but it could turn into a real catastrophe if we start seeing this on a regular basis.




    "Nine in the Afternoon"-Musical Performance



    Weekend Update: With how good the show was so far, I really expected more from Update. Most of the jokes just didn't click with me and I wasn't laughing nearly as hard as some other Update's this season. Andy as the pregnant transvestite was not funny at all, and wasn't needed. I had a feeling they would do something about this story but I thought it would be more clever than this. I only smirked at the baby kick/dong part. But I won't leave out the good things about Update. I really liked the Madonna & homeless men joke, but that was about it.



    Walken Family Reunion: This was great. The different impressions really did it for me. It was fun seeing all the cast member's interpretations. It was really a one-joke thing, but it worked. I also like sketches that utilize the talents of every cast member, so this was really fun to see.




    Indoor Gardening Tips: This was brilliant. Walken had me laughing the entire time. This is exactly the kind of sketch I like to see him in. I also liked seeing the googly eyes on the plants, and Walken's bit about not trusting the grass because he couldn't put the eyes on it. I really enjoyed seeing Walken playing a character that fits his personality best.



    Top Chef: This was very weak. This opinion may be due, in part, to the fact that I don't watch the show, so some of the impressions or atmosphere may be over my head. That being said, I still think they could've done more with the premise. The only saving grace is anything Christopher Walken says has me cracking up, just with his unique rhythm of voice, so this wasn't entirely laugh-less. I do think this is one of the show's low points though.



    "I Write Sins, Not Tragedies"- Musical Performance



    Larry King Live: I know alot of people didn't like this, but I thought it was pretty good. I don't think it was the best sketch of the night, but it wasn't bad. I like Armisen's Larry King, and Hammond's impressions are always great, so that is probably one of the reasons why it clicked with me. It was kind of short though, so it didn't have time to go very far. I liked all the gags with Hammond admitting that probably no one has read his books. Overall, for the last sketch of the night, this was pretty good.



    _____________________________________________________________



    Host: Walken is by far, the best host of the season. His roles made the entire show hilarious and his mere presence brought light to the darkest sketches of the night. He did an amazing job as always. I wouldn't say it was his best episode, but its right up there with his other appearances. It was great to have an SNL vet back since lately, the hosts haven't been anything special.



    Musical Guest: Panic did much better than expected. I heard they weren't much live, but they proved me wrong. I digged the acoustic performances and the throwback to their freshman album. I also hadn't heard "Nine in the Afternoon" before, but I really liked that, and it showed a new side tot heir music.

    Best Sketch of the Night: "Grease" Rehearsal or Office Stalker


    Worst Sketch of the Night: Top Chefmoreless
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  • QUOTES (5)

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    • High School Students: (singing) "Go, Gene Rayburn, you're runnin' up the quarter mile! Gene Rayburn! Go, Gene Rayburn! Hubba-hubba-hubba, Hubba-hubba-hubba-hubba! Flee-ee-ee-eemmm! Pistons, plugs, and shocks! Flocks, flocks, flocks! You know that I'm not braggin' Have you ever seen a dragon? Gene Rayburrrrrrrrrnnn! Go!!"

    • Man who is scared of plants: Hi. These are my cactuses. I put googly eyes on them. A lot of people are putting googly eyes on their cactuses nowadays. I think it's because cactuses are dangerous. Cactuses have pricklers that can stab you in your hands, and your throat, your face. So you need to know where you stand with them all times. The only way to know where to stand with someone is to look into their eyes, right? Normally plants don't have eyes, so it's hard for me to trust them. Hence, googly eyes. Still, a good rule of thumb. Don't turn your back on a cactus.

    • Seth Meyers: According to a recent survey, the most popular name for a dog is "Max", while the least popular is "Osama bin Sniffen."

    • Seth Meyers: After Governor Bill Richardson switched his support from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama last week, an angry Bill Clinton said, "Five times to my face he said he would never do that." Wow, so he looked you right in the face and lied to you. What's that like?

    • Seth Meyers: Hillary Clinton on Tuesday said she is not a quitter, and compared herself to Rocky Balboa - the washed-up, over-the-hill, white contender, who, despite a herculean effort, is soundly beaten by the charismatic black guy.

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    • Sketches/segments not shown in the 60 minute version: "Walken Family Reunion," "Top Chef," "Larry King Live," "Annuale" (rerun 2/23/08, "Laser Cats 3D" (Digital Short), "Eric's Farewell," and Panic at the Disco's performance of "I Write Sins, Not Tragedies."

    • The "Annuale" commercial in this episode is repeated from the episode Tina Fey hosted four weeks earlier; Fey is in the sketch.

    • During the goodnights, Jason Sudeikis is seen showing off a pair of Kansas Jayhawks basketball shorts. Earlier that day, Kansas beat North Carolina in the penultimate round of the 2008 NCAA Final Four.

    • Sketches cut after dress rehearsal: A man (Christopher Walken) entertains guests until his primate-human hybrid comes out of hiding; Hillary Clinton (Amy Poehler), Chelsea Clinton (Casey Wilson), Sinbad (Kenan Thompson) and Sheryl Crow (Kristin Wiig) are a bullet-dodging, gun-shooting quartet in 1996 Bosnia; John McCain (Darrell Hammond) gives the price of various items; An oil salesman (Fred Armisen) weeps uncontrollably when we he doesn't get his way with a perspective buyer (Jason Sudiekis); and during Weekend Update, Will Forte sings about Super-Delegates and blind comic Pep Walters (Fred Armisen) does stand-up about fashion.

    • This is the first time Christopher Walken has hosted in which there was no song-and-dance monologue or a "Continental" sketch.

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