SUNDAY MORNING LIVE: It's Joe Biden Time, but Was Christina Applegate's Hosting Gig a Bunch of Malarkey?

Welcome to the fourth edition of Sunday Morning Live, The Bill Kuchman Chronicle's look at the latest edition of Saturday Night Live.

How'd Christina Applegate do?



Christina Applegate has proven that she's a funny person. She did the SNL hosting thing 19 years ago, appearing in Chris Farley's infamous Matt Foley sketch. She held her own against Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. And she's great with Will Arnett every week on Up All Night. Unfortunately, though, sometimes SNL episodes just fall flat, and Applegate's episode this weekend was one of those instances. Applegate sang and danced, but the episode never really got going. It paled in comparison to Seth MacFarlane and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's episodes, and it was a different kind of disappointment than Daniel Craig's was last week.

Applegate's part of the episode started off strong with a singing monologue. The Frumpets (the knockoff Muppets who appear to sing about it not being the holiday) joined Applegate on stage, and as much as I love the real Muppets, I'm also a fan of poor knockoffs like Kirby the Toad, Fuzzy the Badger and Gronzo. Whopper, whopper, right? In light of the news that NBC had canceled Dane Cook's TV show before the thing ever even aired, SNL's shots at the comedian came off a bit cruel.



Interestingly enough, Applegate seemed to be at her strongest when she was channeling Kristen Wiig, something that was completely noticeable in the Choreographer sketch. This wasn't Applegate doing the Jillian Chizz character — it was Applegate doing an impression of Wiig doing the Jillian Chizz character.

What were the best sketches of the night?



Speaking of Applegate channeling Wiig, take a look at the latest installment of The Californians. There were a few moments when I actually forget it was Applegate in the sketch, not Wiig, especially when Applegate almost cracked at the beginning. Fred Armisen's ridiculous line readings always got Wiig, and he did it again with Applegate this week.



I'm going to include this episode's visit to Booker T. Washington High School only because I think Jay Pharoah's Principal Daniel Frye is hilarious. The line, "Two students have just been expelled for fornicating inside a Mufasa costume. So what you saw on the dance floor was two students getting it on, and not a lion having a seizure," killed me.

How about the vice presidential debate? Was it Biden time?



Of course it was Biden time. How could it not have been after the debate performance we saw this past week? Jason Sudeikis' version of Joe Biden is one of the best things SNL has in the show's arsenal right now. If Lorne Michaels decided to give Sudeikis a TV show or a movie based on Biden, I would watch without hesitation. Did anyone else notice Sudeikis putting his fake teeth back in at one point? I thought this was leading up to something, but it never did.

The debate cold open also made it clear which female castmember would be stepping into Wiig's shoes. Kate McKinnon's Marth Raddatz was great, scoring a huge laugh when she explained to Biden and Taran Killam's Paul Ryan how the debate would work. "Hey! Do I sound like Jim Lehrer? And do I look like Jim Lehrer? Then don’t try to f--- me like I’m Jim Lehrer." McKinnon appeared in almost every sketch this episode.

We're four episodes into the season now — how are the new kids doing?

Tim Robinson put a lot of work in over the first few episodes of the season, but Cecily Strong appears to be the star of the new castmembers. She's appeared in a bunch of sketches this season, including the stripper friend of the son of the most interesting man in the world and that girl you don't want to get stuck talking to at parties. Strong popped up in several of this week's sketches, including being a siren next to Applegate and McKinnon and playing an Apple factory worker along side Nasim Pedrad and Armisen. (The sirens sketch isn't online due to music rights.)



Aidy Bryant, on the other hand, has barely been in anything, not even making it into this episode. It's always sad to watch a new SNL member fade away, but it happens every season. Looks like Bryant won't be the one who makes it out of this bunch.

Anything else we should know about this episode?



Even though Andy Samberg left SNL and took the Digital Shorts with him (wow, that seems like forever ago now), SNL is still trying to replicate the segment. This week, we were treated to a trailer for Give Us All Our Daughters Back!, a film starring any actor and actress who had demanded his or her daughter back in a movie. Denzel Washington, Mel Gibson, Liam Neeson, Uma Thurman — those guys. I gotta say, Armisen's Harrison Ford was just awful.

What's next?
SNL is back next weekend with Bruno Mars hosting and performing.

Previous editions of Sunday Morning Live 
Oct. 7, 2012: Daniel Craig
Sept. 23, 2012: Joseph Gordon-Levitt 
Sept. 16, 2012: Seth MacFarlane