SNL Scorecard: Will the Real, Funny Bryan Cranston Please Step Forward?

Youth was in session on the second episode of Saturday Night Live's 36th season, with mixed results. Vanessa Bayer, Paul Brittain and Nasim Pedrad all received some serious screen time; Taran Killam was used slightly more, while Jay Pharoah was all but missing in action. And while we all know Bryan Cranston is a funny guy (he's Dr. Tim Whatley, ferchrissake), his first SNL hosting gig was surprisingly underwhelming, comprising a lot of straight-man roles that were overshadowed by the likes of guests Morgan Freeman and Ernest Borgnine. Even Kanye West avoided controversy. What gives? Let's check out the scorecard...

Sketch of the Night

"What Up with That: Morgan Freeman" (Thompson, Ensemble): For no other reason than that Freeman's Red co-star Ernest Borgnine is not only still alive, but having the time of his 93-year-old life. The smile on that man's face was contagious. Sure, "What Up with That" is pretty much the same shtick every time, but as long as Jason Sudeikis is selling it while dancing in his red track suit, I'm buying. Sadly, Lindsey Buckingham was bumped once again.

Score: 8.5

The Good

"The Bjelland Brothers" (Armisen, Cranston): This is one of those sketches that's appreciated more once it's over. When I called one of my friends today to discuss SNL (yes, I do this), my first words were, "I sent a bottle of sparkling apple juice to your house. Did you get it?" Considering my two favorite sketches of the night, it's apparent that I'm a sucker for repeating lyrics.

Score: 7.5

"Digital Short: 911" (Samberg, Moynihan, Armisen, Thompson): Satirizing the notion of a 911 Emergency app, Samberg has to go through a series of ads for Rescue Dogs 3-D (which included our third Red star of the night, Helen Mirren), which then emailed all of his contacts about Rescue Dogs 3-D, before allowed to notify the authorities about his home intruders. Funny because I had to look it up to make sure there wasn't a real 911 app available for the iPhone 4.

Score: 7

"The Miley Cyrus Show": (Bayer, Brittain, Cranston, Samberg): Congratulations to Vanessa Bayer for her first featured sketch, and in a nice slot, too -- the first live sketch after the monologue. Bayer's gravel-voiced, three-packs-a-day Cyrus impression was dead on. Brittain gets his first real screen time as Johnny Depp. The highlight of the sketch was the clip for Goodbye, Jeff.

Score: 7

"Rahm Emanuel Address Cold Open" (Samberg, Armisen, Moynihan): It's official, Armisen is keeping the Obama gig instead of handing it off to an all-but-absent Jay Pharoah. Tough guy Emanuel hands off his position as White House Chief of Staff to cat-loving coward Pete Rouse, played by Moynihan.

Score: 6.5

"I Sleep Pro" (Thompson): Buried right before the goodbyes, Kenan Thompson just wants some sleep. I Sleep Pro offers the standard "white noise," but it also offers "black noise," which includes sounds of: Quotes from Friday, domestic violence, base and lines from Tyler Perry productions. (Based on the last feature, S.T. VanAirsdale has just ordered an I Sleep Pro.)

Score: 6.5

"Pepto-Bismol Ice " (Pedrad): Having once, in the last two months, downed a bottle of actual Pepto-Bismol after a bad run in with Indian food in the East Village, I laughed at this commercial parody. In other words, if Pepto-Bismol Ice were a real thing, I could see this doing well. Until, of course, "bros" start Pepto Icing other "bros."

Score: 6.0

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