Chris Hemsworth was back tonight to host a pretty decent episode, although the first half was much stronger than the last half. Still, Chris is very game and funny host, so it's always good to see him back.
COLD OPEN: Will Ferrell returns as his iconic George W. Bush to rag on the GOP candidates and announce he's running for president again, because even he's better than these jokers. It's awesome and hilarious. Seriously, it makes you sad to see the people in contention for the Republican nomination.
MONOLOGUE: Chris comes out and goes backstage, pretending to "horse around" Australian-style with the reluctant cast members. Haven't seen a backstage monologue in a while, it's pretty funny.
STAR WARS TOYS: Ad for new Star Wars toys that eviscerated grown men who collect these things and never play with them. Kinda harsh, but not too inaccurate, I have to say.
ON THE RECORD: Kate does a pretty good Greta Van Susteren, who can't get any Republican to denounce Trump's anti-Miuslim comments this week- Taran, Bobby and Jay's impressions of Ted Cruz, Chris Christie and Ben Carson are all pretty spot on- this episode's kinda rockin' it so far.
TIME TO BLEED: I just realized Chris hasn't been in a sketch yet, and the first one he shows up in is a pre-recorded bit about a tough guy cop who refuses to go the hospital after he's been shot, and eventually just bleeds out from mundane stuff. It's kind of amusing, thanks to the ridiculousness of the whole "tough cop" persona.
BROTHER 2 BROTHER: Marky and Matty, the Disney Channel bros are back, so that everyone can make fun of Taran's pathetic physique compared to Chris's. Eh- this one's not that great- it wasn't before either.
DEBRA'S TIME: Cecily and Chris are a weird couple hosting a Christmas party who insist on singing a weird Broadway-esque depressing, storytelling song to their guests. This one's too weird, random and not funny. Also too long.
UPDATE: Michael and Colin go off on Trump's comments again, and a pretty good jab about sad political ads for Jeb Bush. Kate comes on as Angela Merkel to celebrate her Time's Person of the Year title (funny as always); Leslie comes on to comment on the Golden Globe nominations but goes off on how much she belatedly loves Breaking Bad- eh. An okay Update.
LUNCH: Aidy, Kate, Cecily, Vanessa and Chris in drag talk about hot guys, and Chris keeps talking about himself in Thor. It's actually pretty funny- Chris sells it and makes fun of his brother Liam.
PIRATES: Chris is a pirate captain who leads a musical pirate crew, but includes Mark who does weird little random things- this is the first skit that showcases the new guy. Not impressed. This sketch sucks. Awful.
STRIP CLUB: Kenan deejays at a male strip club, including Chris, Jay, Taran and Beck as the dancers. The guys put on a lame, artsy, international musical show as the girls gawk in disbelief. It's alright.
ARON'S LIST: A rerun from the one a couple weeks ago- hmm. They must have been short this week.
This episode started out pretty strong, but got weaker as it went on. Still, Chris was a good host again, and the episode was mostly energetic and fun because of him. I give it a B. This one was worth it for the Will Ferrell opening alone, frankly. Next week is the big Christmas show with Amy Poehler and Tina Fey back with Bruce Springsteen. Tune in then for the last show of 2015 everyone!
