SNL RECAP: JK Simmons Enjoys a Teacher Snow Day, Mike O'Brien Plays Jay Z

Welcome to Edition No. 55 of Popculturology's Saturday Night Live recaps. All of your questions about the JK Simmons-hosted episode will soon be answered.

How'd JK Simmons do?

SNL wasted little time having the Whiplash star capitalize on his current claim to fame. After Kyle Mooney and Pete Davidson suffered Simmons' band teacher wrath, we got another signature Leslie Jones moment when the freshman SNL star barked right back at Simmons. C'mon, guys, you do not yell at Jones.

Sadly, SNL ruined this segment by bringing out Fred Armisen. Like Kristen Wiig, Armisen has been allowed to use SNL as his personal showcase despite leaving the program years ago. Having Armisen show off his skills as a drummer was neither funny nor did it add anything to the sketch. Luckily Armisen disappeared from the episode after the monologue. (That meant no "Garth and Kat" during "Weekend Update," thank God.)

Simmons performed well as an SNL host, playing mostly off his gruff persona. In a way, it was the only way we'll ever know what it would be like if Spider-Man nemesis J. Jonah Jameson hosted an episode of SNL.

What were the best sketches of the night?

Why isn't Mike O'Brien still a member of SNL's cast? The former SNL castmember/current SNL writer delivered another killer short, presenting the story of Jay Z's rise to fame ... with white actors. O'Brien is quite possibly the whitest person working on SNL, making the idea of him playing Jay Z all the more absurd. 

SNL's current generation of shorts don't live up to the Lonely Island's Digital Shorts, but they're still often the highlight of an episode. The entire SNL cast got in on the action with "Teacher Snow Day." 

Does an SNL writer use Simmons as inspiration to write a sketch spoofing Casablanca or is that just something that a writer tries to pitch every week?

Saturday Night Live: Super Bowl edition

The Super Bowl is on NBC this year, so why not a bit of corporate synergy?

What's better: Jay Pharoah and Kenan Thompson as Richard Sherman and Marshawn Lynch or Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele as the Seattle Seahawks duo? I think we can live in a world where both impressions exist, but there's some real potential here for a great crossover if Key and Peele ever host an episode of SNL.

Why does Simmons' character hate his wife so much? Let her watch the Super Bowl, man.

How was 'Weekend Update'?

Cecily Strong has found a new "Weekend Update" character, bringing back her One Dimensional Female Character for the second time. I really like this character. I really like all of Strong's "Update" characters. But that doesn't mean Strong shouldn't be anchoring "Weekend Update" right now.

Is Taran Killam's Jebidiah Atkinson funny? I think there's a nugget of creative humor in this character, but much of the humor comes from watching Killam throw notecards around and come close to breaking. That's really not enough to establish a character as a recurring segment.

How about the rest of the show?

What was the joke here?

Bobby Moynihan as a Clippy-esque Microsoft mascot is funny, but who thought this sketch should have made it air? Did something get cut last minute and SNL had to open up its "Sketches We Never Aired in 1995" file?

Hey, SNL built that classroom set — they gotta use it every episode to get their money's worth.

What's next?

SNL celebrates its 40th anniversary with a primetime special on Sunday, Feb. 15.