I’ve gotta hand it to Taylor Swift, she did an excellent job as host of SNL this week. Not only was she solid at performing on live TV, but her acting was totally up to snuff and she was in nearly all of the skits (all but a pre-taped commercial and Weekend Update), along with performing twice. I’ll throw up at least a golf clap for all that. That’s the way to do it, though — why only appear in a few skits when you’ve got the honor of being on SNL? (Videos clips of most skits are embedded below.)
Cold Open — Am I the only one getting sick of the politically themed cold open? I think we may as well call it the Political Open at this point. Alright, so seeing them mock FOX News’s coverage of the election was pretty funny. I’m still tired of the politics, though.
Monologue: Taylor Swift — Probably one of the better monologues of the season, hitting everything fans of Swift wanted her to talk about without, well, talking about it. And because I have some weird thing about transcribing lyrics to songs on TV shows, here’s Taylor Swift’s “Monologue Song (La la la)”:
I like glitter and sparkly dresses
But I’m not gonna talk about that
in my monologue
I like baking and things that smell like winter
But I’m not gonna talk about that
in my monologue
La la la
La la la
I like writing songs
about douchebags who cheat on me
But I’m not gonna say that
in my monologue
I like writing their names into songs
so they’re ashamed to go in public
But I’m not gonna say that
in my monologue
La la
La la la la la
This is
My musical monologue
You might think I might bring up Joe
that guy who broke up with me on the phone
But I’m not gonna mention him
in my monologue
Hey Joe, I’m doing real well
I’m hosting SNL
But I’m not gonna brag about that
in my monologue
La la la
Ha ha ha
Ha ha ha
Ha ha ha
La la la
And if you’re wondering if I might
Be dating the werewolf from Twilight (Hi Taylor)
I’m not gonna comment on that
in my monologue
La la
La la la la la
This is
My musical monologue
You might might be expecting me to say
something bad about Kanye
And how he ran up on the stage
And ruined my VMA monologue
But there’s nothing more to say
‘cuz everything’s OK
I’ve got security lining the stage
It’s my SNL monologue
La la
La la la la la
This is
My SNL monologue
La la
La la la la la
That was
My SNL monologue
Commercial: Carter & Sons’ Swine Fever — This reminds me of the poor company behind the dietary supplement “Ayds,” pronounced as you might think. No, seriously, there was a diet pill called Ayds. Even if they got the idea from that unfortunate naming clash, this was a pretty funny one.
The View — I still get a kick out of seeing two of the three hosts of The View being played by men. By the way, Andy Samberg’s Nick Cage impression was spot on!
SNL Digital Short: Firelight — Holy. Fricken’. Awesome. I mean, come on, we’ve got a thousand vampire and/or werewolf movies, so where’s the Frankenstein lovin’? “I’m afraid I might choke you to death … by accident.”
Hollywood Dish Interview — Most nights I would have thought this wasn’t so bad, but tonight it really wasn’t good at all when standing up to the rest of the show.
T.R.A.A.A.P.D. — Swift in another skit, with her first musical number coming up next! Seriously, I’m not a Taylor Swift fan, but she’s definitely earning her keep as host. Oh, and any parent watching this skit knows all of those dangerous situations in the car are so true. Well, hopefully except the sex and relationship talk ones.
Musical Guest: Taylor Swift — I have no idea what Swift sings, so all of this was new to me. But damn, she really does sing about boyfriends and breaking up and stealing guys. But isn’t that all country music?
Weekend Update — Wow, they even threw in a last-minute joke on the passing of the Health Care Reform bill, which was announced a mere hour before Weekend Update aired live. Not a brilliant joke, but great work keeping really current. One of the few skits Taylor Swift didn’t make an appearance in. Best joke of the night: the woman with two vaginas story having “too many holes” in it.
Wedding reception with Penelope — Can someone please stop giving Kristin Wiig these regular characters to play? I hate Gilli and I hate Penelope. Oh, and that Target checkout chick … alright that one’s not so bad. Finding them much more annoying than funny.
Scared Straight — Alright this is ridiculous. Is this a record for a guest being involved in skits in one episode? This one seemed to scream out that she was going for one. Loved this skit the first time I saw it, loved it again tonight. Always great to see the cast lose it. “1.21 gizz-a-watts!”
Anna the close roommate — For this late hour of the episode, this was a surprisingly decent skit. Maybe it’s because at one point in my life, I could have totally related to being Samberg’s character.
Bunny Business — Everyone’s impressions were awesome in this skit. I’m not sure I could pick a favorite. Alright, maybe Hader as Eddie Vedder — that got the biggest laugh out of me.
Clacked by Keith McDuffee 
on Nov 08, 2009 @ 01:04 EST5EDT
Just one thing, the diet product was named “Ayds” and it was around long before the disease. Yeah, I’m showing my age, but just to clarify.
*POST AUTHOR*
Ah thanks for that. Fixed it in the post.
who was andy samberg impersonating in the bunny business… he was singing that song that is like sha la la la la la… what song is that
he was impersonating the lead singer from counting crows, and it was to the tune of the song “Mr. Jones”
I thought it was hilarious, the monologue was my favorite part. I was surprised by how well she did in all the skits she did do, especially the Shakira… funny all-around. Props to Taylor Swift.
Taylor’s Shakira impersonation was hilarious! Also loved the T.R.A.A.A.P.D. sketch. Not a bad show overall, and nice to see Amy pop in for a segment of “Really?” One question, was Jenny Slate in the show at all? I don’t remember seeing her in anything – was she even in the opening credits? Is she still being punished for the season premiere F-bomb, or did she get fired (or quit)?
Wasn’t she Barara Walters in ‘The View’ sketch?
No, I think that was Nasim Pedrad.
T.R.A.A.A.P.D. was definitely my favourite of the night– I’ve totally done the “argues with the GPS” and “carries on a sarcastic conversation with the driver in front of you” whil driving. ;p
I can’t believe that a teenage musician both was featured more heavily and put in a stronger performance than many professional actor hosts in recent seasons. Reminiscent of, though not as good as, Steve Forbes’s appearance so many years ago.
Best line of the night:
“I have wanted to host this show ever since I was a little kid, staying up past my bed time to watch Bill Hader & Andy Samberg…”
Definitely the best episode of the season so far. I particularly loved the monologue with: “I like writing songs about douchebags who cheat on me, but I’m not gonna say that, in my monologue…”
taylor swift was awesome in snl… i love her performances that night..and she performed really well in all the skits ..the monologue and TRAAAPD are really hilarious .. ha ha
I rrly liked “SNL monolougue”