fredarmisen

(S35E10) I hope you all rolled a towel against the crack of the door before watching James Franco host. This was the most I've laughed at an episode in quite a while, but I am still not entirely sure if it's because watching for ninety minutes gave me a bit of a contact high. Okay, even if you argue that I'm inferring a lot because bits of Pineapple Express are still lingering in my brain, there's no denying Franco was definitely extra-squinty, extra-grinny, and was half-slurring, half-spitting his speech through most of the night.

There was also a lot of making out. No man, woman or tree was safe. Or bong, I guess. Maybe.

(S35E09) Hello, Twilight fans. I know you're only here because of your screaming hearts, thudding so hard that every beat is a case for internal bruising. I'm going to be upfront: I don't like Twilight. I tried reading it before it was a "thing" because my friends recommended it to me and I found myself struggling to get through it because, well, even then I knew it was embarrassing. I also watched the film, which I thought was very funny, though I realize that was probably not the intended effect.

That said, I thought Taylor Lautner did a great job. See? I'm not just swimming in haterade. Obviously, I wasn't prepared to like him, but just like Blake Lively from last week, Lautner delivered a strong performance. He seemed really comfortable throughout the entire episode and was surprisingly natural, more natural than some of the actual cast members at some points, at least in terms of blatantly looking at cue cards.

And thanks for keeping your shirt on for all 90 minutes, Sharkboy.

Elizabeth Banks is at it again.

The television cameo all-star, fresh off her hilarious turn as the boozy best friend of gay couple Mitchell and Cameron on 'Modern Family', will make an appearance as Jack Donaghy's newest flame in a four-episode arc of '30 Rock' this season.

As a tribute to Banks -- who by now should have her own show based on past performances on other programs-- we count down six other high-profile cameo kings and queens of network television that should have shows of their own.

(S35E08) I will be perfectly honest: I was not at all looking forward to this episode. A few months ago, I had forced myself to watch two seasons of Gossip Girl for blogging purposes (okay, it was also an excuse to stare at their fantastic costuming), and I couldn't bring myself to continue. One of the reasons why I disliked the show so much was Serena, Blake Lively's character.

However, I'm happy to say I was pleasantly surprised by this episode. Lively was minimally awkward and brought great enthusiasm through the entire evening (though not an exhausting amount of zeal Joseph Gordon-Levitt style). I liked how it didn't seem Lively went on the show with a mission (apart from showing off her crazy legs); she didn't try to show off her musical side, cling to strictly "pretty girl" skits, or get controversial. She was just there, having a good time.

Also, for the most part, the writing was solid this week. Probably the most consistently funny installment in quite a while. Even the strange treatment of the Cold Open (with the Obama party crashers) was adorable.

(S35E07) I imagine it played out like this: Joseph Gordon-Levitt was at home last week, trying to mentally prepare for his first go as Saturday Night Live host by watching January Jones. Her performance turned out to be wooden and incredibly low energy and, consequently, the laughs were minimal. This struck fear into Mr. Gordon-Levitt's heart, and, terrified, he dropped the pint of Phish Food that he was eating in my imagination. "I won't let this happen to me," I bet he said. "I'm going to eat two fistfuls of Pixi Stix at 11:25 p.m. Saturday night and have someone inject me with a near lethal dose of adrenaline. I'll also wear a lot of vests."

And that's how Joseph Gordon-Levitt managed to exhaust a seated audience through sheer enthusiasm and volume alone. Maybe.

Things are heating up this season in Pawnee, Indiana. E! Online reports that the 'Parks and Recreation' team have Leslie Knope, played by Amy Poehler, accidentally getting involved in a sex scandal that derails her plans for a city Santa's Village. Producer Mike Schur says, "There are rumors swirling about another city councilman scandal -- who was disgraced by cave sex in the 'Practice Day' episode -- and Leslie ends up getting photographed with him at a bar late at night by a tabloid newspaper."

As if that isn't enough, Leslie and Dave the Cop don't stand the test of time. "We were so lucky to get Louis C.K.," says Poehler of her character's love interest, "but he's starting his own show."

Luckily, it has just been confirmed by Entertainment Weekly that 'Parks' fans will see that role filled by none other than Poehler's real-life love, Will Arnett. Of course, Poehler and Arnett have worked together many times, including on 'Arrested Development' and in films such as 'Blades of Glory' and 'Monsters vs. Aliens.' So it's only natural that Arnett would stop by 'Parks.'

Arnett's arrival on the show will coincide with that of Justin Theroux who will, incidentally, also vie for Leslie's heart.

With thoughts of Arnett and Poehler teaming up again, we brainstormed some other real-life couples whose pairings would translate well to the small screen.

(S35E06) There was a strange moment of nodding recognition at the end of the night, as I watched Jason Sudeikis and January Jones in the cloud-gazing sketch. Throughout, the man pauses to consider the woman's weird behavior and then concedes, "Ohh, you're a very pretty, pretty woman." Yup. That's pretty much how I reacted the entire night, especially during really bad sketches like the farting Grace Kelly (take a moment to think about that: Farting. Grace. Kelly.)

Jones was kind of a stiff host with not particularly daring material, but, goodness gracious, her real-life 50s Barbie prettiness was mesmerizing. Her performances in the mid-century instructional video and the aforementioned cloud-gazing sketch were the best of the evening, but that's not saying much since the rest of her appearances were strange and wooden. Even her good night felt like it had been programmed in and auto-tuned for maximum polite insincerity.

(S35E05) I had to talk myself through being allowed to criticize Taylor Swift. Ever since Kanye West VMA outburst turned everyone in America into Swift's over-protective mom, she's been shown even more as an innocent country-inspired sweetheart. Every time she messed up in this episode, I felt the need to hold back any not-super-great remarks because, well, she's a teeny-bopper! Teeny-boppers are just kids goofin' around!

And then I have to pause and remind myself that she's almost 20-years-old, around the same age as Shia LaBeouf and Ellen Page when they first hosted and Abby Elliiott when she initially joined the featured players. Screw it, there's no need to hold back. Swift is a musician, so we can't expect her acting skills to be super-good, but the fact I keep thinking she's only 14 shouldn't affect anything else.

(S35E04) I remember sitting down and staring at Gerard Butler as he made funny, smarmy faces at the camera. And then I blinked, only to see Butler was thanking the cast and viewers for a wonderful show. I looked on the computer screen. There were half-remembered notes haphazardly tapped out at some point.

Somehow, I had jumped forward ninety minutes. Had I finally mastered short-term time travel? Or did I just watch an incredibly forgettable episode of Saturday Night Live? Probably the latter. However, I vaguely recall a destructive robot adorably struggling through a wall. If that was actually a dream and not real life, please don't tell me.

(S02E05) Wow. I cannot wait to see what you guys have to say about this episode. I've been of the opinion that Parks and Recreation started off shaky, but consistently got better until the season finale, which is when I truly became a fan. Then, the first four episodes of this season were not only hilarious, but allowed the characters to grow and develop.

And then this episode happened.

I really want to give the benefit of the doubt to shows I like, so I'm just going to say that, hey, maybe there's a really important, deep message about Venezuelan/US relations that I just did not get. That is why we had 30 minutes of Fred Armisen insulting both America and really, the people of Venezuela simultaneously. Yeah, that's the ticket.

(S35E02) After that Jenny Slate f-bomb nonsense and Megan Fox's not terribly original hot girl material from the season premiere, it was exciting to see a really solid episode (and a star-studded one, at that). Ryan Reynolds did a fantastic job as host (snaps for his wavering voice during the porcelain fountains sketch and accent in SYTYCD), though he didn't have any major stand-out roles. Did I miss the memo that Lady Gaga wasn't just musical guest but co-host as well? Such a role is normally left up to Ryan Reynolds' giant biceps.

It's been a while since we've seen such consistently enjoyable writing in an episode. Usually, there's a distinct lull during the course of the 90 minutes, but I didn't feel it this time. Hopefully, this is a good indication of the rest of the season.

(S35E01) Alternate title for this post: "New girl's f-bomb overshadows Megan Fox's slammin' bod."

Yes, Saturday Night Live new girl Jenny Slate's f-bomb was the most thrilling part of the show's otherwise bland 35th season premiere. It's not like we've never heard that word before, and it's not like accidental verbal naughtiness has never happened on SNL (I still distinctly remember my extra-young self watching Cheri Oteri cringing as she contributed to the swear jar), but the pain still felt fresh with hot embarrassment.

This was partially due to the fact that it's just a generally bad thing to have happen on a player's first show (and in such a mediocre sketch, at that) but mostly because of this face that she made after she caught her boo-boo. Twitter exploded with people's camera phone pics of this one moment.

Jenny Slate, welcome to the big time.

Audrina Patridge runs from 'The Hills,' The Daytime Emmys dips to an all-time low, Fred Armisen books a guest spot on 'Parks and Recreation' and more of today's top TV headlines.

'Mad Men' star Elisabeth Moss has been a fan and critic favorite as ambitious Peggy since the show began; as the Emmy-winning drama heads into its third season on Aug. 16, Moss returns to her role with a Lead Actress Emmy nomination of her own.

The actress, who was best known as First Daughter Zoey Bartlet on 'The West Wing' before she jumped back in time to the '60s, talks to AOL TV about her Emmy nod, what's ahead for career gal Peggy in season 3 -- and Moss' upcoming wedding to 'Saturday Night Live' star Fred Armisen.

(S34E23) Wow. Way to go, Will Ferrell. Maybe they should just bring back Saturday Night Live alumni for season finales from now on, because this episode was spectacular. Ferrell brought back some old favorites and a slew of famous faces, from the familiar to the inexplicable, including Amy Poehler, Tom Hanks, Anne Hathaway and Artie Lange. Here are some video highlights from the evening (Hulu vids are US only. Sorry, kids... you can also watch these videos at NBC's website).