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Saturday Night Live Season 32 Episode 19

Molly Shannon/Linkin Park

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EPISODE REVIEWS
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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 5/12/07

Live from New York, it's... Molly Shannon!

Sketches include "Mary Katherine Gallagher on American Idol," "Urigro," "Penelope at the Tenants' Meeting," "The Fringe Candidates Debate," "Sally O'Malley on The Sopranos," "Kaitlin at the Nursing Home," "MacGruber" (three parts), "The Legend of Big-Boobed Einstein" (cartoon), "Charli Coffee," and "Trump Steaks."

Linkin Park performed "What I've Done" and "Bleed It Out."moreless

FAN RECAP

Fan Episode Reviews (8)

A very good episode all around. A few dull spots were not enough to pull this out of the top 5 for the season. Molly brought the energy and the writers brought the goods.moreless

8.5

By FarleyRules, Nov 09, 2008

American Idol cold open - I was never much of a Molly Shannon fan during her tenure, but this sketch (and the whole show) showed why her cast is so highly revered now. In a word: energy. That cast had a lot of energy and Molly brought it to the fore in this sketch. It's kind of weird seeing an old character brought into the present, but this worked well. Grade: B+

Monologue - The references to the 90s were totally inconsistent (Mambo #5 is from 1999 whereas phones that large were at least 3 years earlier), but who cares? The interaction with Lorne was great and I dug the "I love you" on the eyelashes which was taken right from Raiders of the Lost Ark. One of the better, if not the best monologue of the season. Grade: A

Penelope - Isn't it strange how Penelope has only been on once before, but the crowd cheered at her appearance as if it was some cherished favorite character? Kristen may be onto something here. She is undoubtedly great playing these twitchy kinds of characters, but it hasn't quite reached the level of Lovitz's liar character yet. Grade: B

Fringe Candidates Debate - A funny premise and some great candidates (with the exception of Maya's Whitney with a big wig). Forte truly stole the show here. I had no idea NAMBLA was real. I thought it was just some organization that Trey Parker made up for South Park. Kenan's black vampire has only two precedants that I am aware of: Blacula (awesome 70s blaxploitation film) and Count Chocula (I want to eat your cereal, ha ha ha) . Grade: B+

The Sopranos - First off, parodies of TV shows and movies are usually the domain of the lazy and feeble-minded (witness MadTV and Scary Movie). So I audibly groaned when I saw what they were up to. Obviously, the introduction of Sally O'Malley takes it far outside the realm of the Sopranos, but still nothing too exciting. This character never did all that much for me anyway. Outside of the outrageous camel toe joke, this one kind of fell flat for me. Still, the camel toe was pretty out there for network TV, even late night TV. Grade: C

Weekend Update - The Comedy Cul-de-sac bit was kind of funny. I have seen so many lame comics on Live at the Improv, so I kind of got a kick out of it. I'm hoping to see nihobbs do his bit the next time they do this segment. The jokes seemed to be a little better than usual tonight. And Armisen is always great playing dolts who get in the way of the camera. It's kind of his specialty really. And it's good for a laugh. Armisen should get some more WU airtime. Maybe do Ferricito or the Native American comedian. The What's in a Word segment was great and capped a good WU. It runs so much more smoothly when Hammond doesn't appear or Maya's Whitney. Grade: B+

Kaitlin - Like most everybody else, I thought (and hoped) that this character had been buried alongside Horatio. Wrong! The hyperactive Gilda wannabe is back and just as annoying as ever. I'm undecided if it's better or worse without Rick sucking on his Big Gulp. But truthfully, Horatio added virtually nothing to these sketches. However, the appearance of Molly as Kaitlin's mother solidified this one as the best Kaitlin sketch yet. Sorry Horatio, but the boat floats without you, and a little higher in the water to boot. Grade: C-

MacGruber #1 - Wow the return of MacGruber! It's enough for me that they brought him back. Grade: B

TV Funhouse - Smigel must have been really high when he came up with the idea for this one. "Dude, wouldn't it be hilarious if Einstein had really big boobs?" Umm, not really. Grade: C-

The Oak Room - After all these years, Maya is still desperately searching for a character that will immortalize her. Honestly, it's time to pull the plug. But, on with the review. What to say? A couple of drunk lounge singers making lousy jokes. Kattan was much better as the down-and-out lounge comedian. Also, the Sweeney sisters were similar, but much more fun. Even Molly couldn't save this turkey from imploding. Grade: D-

MacGruber #2 - Better than the last MacGruber with a drunk MacGruber singing his own theme song! A nice laugh after the lounge mess. Grade: A-

Trump Steaks - Quick, have we seen this 1 million times or 100? Actually, it's less than either, but it feels like more than both multiplied together. Sure, Trump is buffon. Sure, Hammond has nothing else to do on the show. But why make us suffer? Solution: give Hammond a permanent vacation. He'll enjoy the rest and so will we. Grade: C-

MacGruber #3 - Save the best for last. Absolutely hilarious. A totally wasted MacGruber activates the bomb himself and can't even get up to save his own a$$. Precious! Grade: A+moreless
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Maybe it's not ten, but it's certainly seven... okay, maybe five or maybe four, MacGruuubb--

7.5

By whoaitsconner, Jul 27, 2008

Molly Shannon, ex alum comes back to host to promote "Year Of The Dog". Of course, this got mixed reactions. Some were excited for her to come back, while others sighed, thinking "i have to deal with those characters again?!" Meanwhile, others were excited to see Linkin Park, the American rock band, to make their debut on the SNL stage.

American Idol: I was a bit worried that the opening would just depend on Ryan Seacrest (who's now Bill Hader) prolonging the answer if Melinda made it or not. But, nope, as early as it was in the show, it was nice to see Mary Katherine Gallagher. The sketch overall, made me laugh very hard. I also say I like Hader's Ryan Seacrest better than Seth's.

Monologue: Molly tells us about how SNL was in the 90s, then we see a flashback of her romantic thing with Lorne. This made me laugh very much. Just the stupid little details of the 90s was great.

Urigro: This was the 3rd repeat of the commercial, but this was MY first time seeing it. I did not laugh a bit. :)

Tentant Meeting: Penelope shows up to a Tentant's Meeting. And, I saw the Peyton Manning/Carrie Underwood rerun two weeks earlier, so I knew what I was watching. This was probably the peak of the character Penelope, because as she would show up in the season premiere, it would be rushed, and less funny.

Fringe Candidates Debate: This sketch was probably one of the most creative political sketches that had been made for years. Just the fact that you're going to have a Nazi, PETA woman, kids pervert, and a black vampire run for president is just ridiculously funny. I thought this was great. And, Will Forte's final line, "At My house... I have X-Box", frosted the cake".

The Sopranos: As much as I liked Hammond's Tony, and all of the other character impersonations, I felt that the Sally O'Malley bring-back was a little dumb. The sketch's energy really never picked up, unless you count the Molly Shannon camel toe cameo.

Weekend Update: I did not mention this in the Scarlett Johansson review, but Amy's hair for this, and that episode bugged me. But, anyways, I liked the Jeanie Darcy coverage, and I also liked Pep Walters. The "What's In a Word" segment was funny, but nothing that should be translated into a recurring segment, like "Really?!?". The jokes were pretty good, also.

Kaitlin At A Nursing home: Kaitlin is brought back, without Rick, and tries to entertain the elders, and us. I'm pretty sure it didn't work for neither of us groups. I didn't see why this character was brought back.

MacGruber: MacGruber doesn't pay attention to the bomb, and instead, he makes a Bloody Mary. That's the sketch. Mediocre, I'll say.

Big-Boobed Einstein: I thought this was quite stupid, even though some lines had me laughing. "She's not really smart, is she, dad?" "Yeah, but she's beautiful."

Oak Room: Charli Coffee returns (what the heck?) and sings intoxicated with her friend. This had some good lines, but the sketch seemed un-needed.

MacGruber: MacGruber sings to the girls, while he's intoxicated. This was much funnier than the first one. Obviously the first one was some how weirdly connected to this.

Trump Steaks: This was silly, and it made me laugh. It was short and sweet.

MacGruber: This was just kind of stupid. MacGruber didn't have his shirt on.

Tonight's episode was top-heavy. Really top-heavy. After the Kaitlin sketch, things really didn't fly. But, the pre-Update sketches were so funny, that I had to like this episode.

Linkin Park's first song was very good, while their second song was fun, and got the crowd warmed up... for one more sketch, but anyways they were good.

Molly Shannon brought energy to the cast. She was probably one of the best hosts that season. I also hope to see her return late season 34.moreless
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Saturday Night Live- Molly Shannon/Linkin Park

8.1

By tigerz724, Dec 15, 2007

Pretty good episode. I especially liked MacGruber. That was halarious. Also Mary Katherine Gallagher on American Idol was pretty good. Urigro was another good commerical parody. Linkin Park performed well too. If you didn't know...this is my 3rd SNL episode ever seen. This show is amazing. The casts, hosts, musical guest, all great. This episode was rather silly, I admit. The newer episodes aren't as goo das the 90's and past but it's all good. Molly Shannon was a great cast member and was just as good as a host. Linkin Park as I said before was awesome too. Prety good episode.moreless
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i love this

9.2

By kristiebreen, Jul 05, 2007

i love this one. it is one of the best ones. keep them coming because penelope is so funny! i like to imitate her sometimes. i laugh everytime i see her on the tv. kristen wiig is a very good actress. i think she should do more of the saturday night like stuff. i especially think that you shoudl do more of the penelope ones because they make me laugh. she thinks she is better than every one and that is what i like about that. please keep it on! it is a very funny show! i love saturday night live!moreless
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Molly Shannon returns to host SNL.

8.0

By ZachDresch, Jun 18, 2007

Molly Shannon comes back to host Saturday Night Live, and it seems like the audience was extremely pumped up and excited that she was hosting. I hate to say it, but I was kind of excited that she was hosting. Anyways, she reprised a lot of her old characters, like Mary Katherine Gallagher, and Sally O'Malley. I kind of like the way they set up those sketches, but I still can not stand Sally O'Malley. We get it, she's 50. Weekend Update was one of the best and funniest of the season. Linkin Park was on the show too, which is cool 'cause they are on of my favorite bands. To sum up, this episode was pretty good, but I could have done without Sally O'Malley.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Amy Poehler	Herself
Andy Samberg	Himself
Bill Hader	Himself
Darrell Hammond	Himself
Don Pardo	Announcer
Fred Armisen	Himself

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Molly Shannon	Herself	Guest Star
Linkin Park	Themselves	Guest Star
Lorne Michaels	Himself	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (2)
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- This is the third time the commercial "Urigro" was used during Season 32.
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- In the "Fringe Candidates Debate" sketch, Andy Samberg's character speaks with a British accent and wears an 18th-century outfit, even though the Whigs were an American political party in the mid-19th century.
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QUOTES (4)
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- Gina: I have a card for everyone to sign. Some of you may not know this but Mrs. Jacobs' 15-year-old cat Whiskers McGee passed away last week.
  Penelope: My cat passed too, so. His name was Whiskers McGee the First. He was 17 years old, so he was a little bit older that her cat, so... he also died just a few minutes ago, so... affects me a little more, so...
  Lisa: Well, that cat was like her child to her.
  Penelope: My cat was my child. I was pregnant with my cat. Gave birth to it, so... had my cat baby in the hospital, and I had a cat baby shower.
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- Seth Meyers: Hamas has started a new children's show which features Farfur, a Mickey Mouse knock-off, who teaches Islamic radicalism and hatred toward America and Israel. Farfur replaces the network's previous children's show, "Dora the Exploder."
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- Amy Poehler: Last week Oprah Winfrey endorsed Barack Obama for President. Said Obama, "That's great, but I was hoping for a car."
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- Amy Poehler: On Monday, President Bush held his first ever white tie dinner in honor of Queen Elizabeth, opting to save the even more formal "platinum tie" dinner for when Spider-Man visits.
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NOTES (3)
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- Sketches cut after dress rehearsal include: a sketch where Will tells Andy to pull his finger to hear fart noises, and Andy pulls it out of place and the noises won't stop; a parody of "The Bachelor" where the bachelor (Jason) has to send a person home, and chooses a woman with a witches chin (Molly); a sketch where a sex therapy couple (Molly, Fred) try to aid a bland woman (Kristin) with her sexuality; and a sketch where during a Power Point presentation, a man's (Fred) computer gets stuck during the song "I Like To Move".
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- Molly Shannon is the 23rd ex-cast member to host SNL.
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- Molly Shannon is both the second female cast member to return as host (after Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and the second person from the late-'90s cast to return as host (after Will Ferrell).
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ALLUSIONS (0)
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