I wasn't expecting much from Peter Sarsgaard. I just didn't picture him as an SNL host. He is a great actor, but comedy isn't what he's known for. That being said, he did so-so. It wasn't a spectacular episode but it did have some very funny moments.

Cold Open - Hooray for something different and by different I mean not a Hardball Sketch. Ok, well kind of different. Seth Myers is still alive and kicking as Anderson Cooper and the show opened with a 360° sketch where he welcomed Ray Nagin (Finesse), Darrell Hammond as Jesse Jackson, and Hillary Clinton (Poehler). It centered around Nagin's recent comments that New Orleans needs to be rebuilt as a "chocolate city." I have no idea what that means. The highlight was Jesse Jackson preaching about inclusiveness and claiming that New Orleans needs to have a variety of sweets such as Bavarian crème for the Asians, caramel for the Latinos, and tiramisu should any Italians show up. "...and the dessert cart rolls on!"

Saturday Night Live has lined up some pretty impressive talent to host the show this month. I'm sure the first host, Scarlett Johansson, will boost the ratings. Her appearance, on January 14th, coincides with the release of the first of two Woody Allen movies that she stars in. She seems like a gutsy gal, so hopefully the SNL writers can come up with some bold sketches for her. The band Death Cab for Cutie is scheduled to perform the same night. And on January 21 is Peter Sarsgaard, who has had supporting roles in Jarhead, Flightplan, Kinsey, The Skeleton Key, and was terrific in Zach Braff's Garden State. I can't find a whole lot about Peter's background on the internet-- I was wondering whether he had any experience in improv or stand-up comedy, but I can't tell. And, I'm not sure what his appearance coincides with since IMDB lists his last flick as Jarhead, which doesn't come out on DVD until March. The musical guest pairing up with Sarsgaard is The Strokes. Wouldn't it be nice if these actors could get some good sketches on SNL?