SUNDAY MORNING LIVE: Melissa McCarthy Finishes Pizzas and Throws Toasters; Peter Dinklage and Drunk Uncle Discuss Immigration

Welcome to Edition No. 17 of Sunday Morning Live, Popculturology's look at the latest episode of Saturday Night Live. All of your questions about the Melissa McCarthy-hosted episode will be answered after the jump.

How'd McCarthy do?



When Justin Timberlake hosted SNL last month, he made it clear that he knows exactly how a fan-favorite host should return — revisit your classic sketches while trying out some knew material. McCarthy's first time hosting, with Popculturology naming it Season 37's second-best episode thanks to instant classic sketches like Hidden Valley ranch dressing tasting and McCarthy's balloon-humping, Jason Sudeikis-loving office worker. Going into this weekend's office, I thought for sure we'd see a return of at least one of those characters, since like Timberlake, returning hosts always reprise a sketch or two from their past appearances.

In a surprising move, SNL didn't bring back anything from McCarthy's previous episode. The bar was set pretty high for the Bridesmaids actress, and I think this decision brought this episode down a peg. While I applaud SNL for trying out some new material, part of the fun of a returning host is to see them slip back into characters we already love. McCarthy didn't scale back the enthusiasm she put into her second SNL hosting gig, but the show felt empty. If the writers were purposely trying to avoid the sketches she did last time, they should've come up with material as strong or stronger than what they gave McCarthy to work with in Season 37.

Besides Timberlake, Season 38 has lacked standout hosting performances, so McCarthy's episode is still one of the season's best. She came out swinging ... or stumbling, in the case of the monologue. In one of the more unconventional monologues I've seen, McCarthy tiptoed out in recklessly high heels, not even making it down the first set of stairs before the band wrapped up the intro music. "That seemed like a shorter intro ..." McCarthy quipped before attempting to make her way to the main part of the stage. SNL threw McCarthy into a bout of physical comedy instantly with her monologue, playing to what has become the actress' strength.


What were the best sketches of the night?



While SNL refused to bring McCarthy's dressing taster or secret admirer back, the show came close to hitting that same comedic vein with Barb Kelner, a woman trying to get a bank loan to start a business based solely on her eating pieces of pizza that no one else wanted. McCarthy and Sudeikis are excellent together, something we learned last season. Any chance we can get this duo in a movie together? The piece of pizza that McCarthy scarfed down in this sketch is one of the saddest-looking slices of pizza I've ever seen.



SNL's first post-monologue sketch featured McCarthy as a women's basketball coach who makes Rutgers' Mike Rice look like a nice guy. McCarthy spent the sketch not only verbally abusing players but also throwing objects like bricks and toasters at them. Why toasters? "When you get toast and you are toast, you get a toaster thrown at you." Of course.



There was a time when the Internet didn't like Bobby Moynihan's Drunk Uncle. I don't know why they didn't like the character, but as I've always loved this absurd sketch, I'm happy to see that the Internet as come around to embrace him. After watching Moynihan sing I Wanna Know What Love Is to his scotch, we were introduced to Drunk Uncle's brother-in-law, Peter Drunklage. Yes, Game of Thrones' Peter Dinklage cameoed on this episode's edition of Weekend Update, dropping the line, "I wish the IRS stood for Immigration Return Services." The gasps that followed that joke were probably the loudest of the episode.

Interesting note about Weekend Update: Seth Meyers never addressed NBC's announcement that SNL alum Jimmy Fallon would be taking over The Tonight Show. Was this omission due to the fact that Meyers is in talks to replace Fallon as host of Late Night? Hmmmm ....


You predicted a Kim Jong Un sketch this weekend. Did SNL make fun of North Korea?

SNL didn't waste any time this week when it came to mocking Kim Jong Un and North Korea, having Moynihan play him in episode's cold open. While listening to Kim boast about his sexual abilities, the highlight of the cold open was when the real Dennis Rodman stopped by. The basketball hall of famer and Celebrity Apprentice contestant was given the privilege of throwing to SNL's opening credits, but screwed up the line, saying, "Live in New York, it's Saturday Night." Even though the show does take place in New York, the classic line is "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night. C'mon, Rodman. Not sure why this sketch isn't available online, but it's not.


How about Pseudo Digital Shorts or commercials?



Just one short this week, a commercial for the Bathroom Businessman, a product that would allow you to set up a work station in a bathroom stall. It seemed like the sketch hit its peak when Keenan Thompson's character realized he had trapped himself between the door and his stall desk, uttering "I just shit my fucking pants" after he couldn't reach the toilet, but the short then switched gears and revealed it was actually a commercial for "decency." "Stop texting and checking email on the toilet. Nothing's that important. And it's disgusting."


So how was the rest of the episode? Anything else worth noting?

The show had a few more sketches that drew laughs, but none of these sketches rose to the level of being included in the episode's bests.



For the second time this season, SNL spoofed NBC's The Voice. McCarthy played a contestant who I'm pretty sure had the last name "Buttersex," a woman who really didn't deserve to get picked or get praised. I don't watch The Voice, but this sketch seemed to be based on the joke that the judges this season are picking everyone? I dunno. Kate McKinnon's impression of Shakira killed.

Unfortunately, NBC hasn't put the sketch featuring McCarthy as a women entering a ham-baking contest online.If you ever wanted to see McCarthy do a ham dance with Taran Killam and Moynihan in pig costumes, this sketch is for you.


What was the weirdest sketch of the night?



Once again, SNL saved one of its most bizarre sketches for last, giving us the 1990s dating-advice program The Art of the Encounter. Cecily Strong (who was criminally underused this episode) and McKinnon peddled awful dating tips while McCarthy acted those tips out on Killam. Spoiler alert: The sketch ends with McCarthy telling Killam to to get on the ground, "So I can do the splits on your face."


What's next?

SNL is back on April 13 with Vince Vaughn hosting and Miguel as the musical guest.


Previous editions of Sunday Morning Live

March 10, 2013: Justin Timberlake
March 3, 2013: Kevin Hart
Feb. 17, 2013: Christoph Waltz
Feb. 10, 2013: Justin Bieber
Jan. 27, 2013: Adam Levine
Jan. 20, 2013: Jennifer Lawrence
Dec. 16, 2012: Martin Short
Dec. 9, 2012: Jamie Foxx
Nov. 18, 2012: Jeremy Renner
Nov. 11, 2012: Anne Hathaway
Nov. 4, 2012: Louis C.K.
Oct. 21, 2012: Bruno Mars
Oct. 14, 2012: Christina Applegate
Oct. 7, 2012: Daniel Craig
Sept. 23, 2012: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Sept. 16, 2012: Seth MacFarlane