Is there a list available about the hosts they have for this fall's episodes and the dates they will air? Lauren Graham is supposed to be hosting sometime this fall, unless that changed.

The first three hosts are:
LeBron James - September 29th
Seth Rogen - October 6th
Jon Bon Jovi - October 13th

Seth Rogan, awesome. I just hope the writing's up to par for him, it could be the show of the year.

November 3 - Brian Williams

Which if I'm not mistaken - maybe there's an actor/comedian Brian Williams out there - is the anchor on NBC Nightly News. I'm excited.

I know we don't have a discussion thread, but...........

JACK!!!!

Jack and Chevy back to back weeks.

I haven't been all that impressed this season. The premiere was just really bad. Please god, I hope they never start the season with a sports figure again. Seth Rogen's episode was good. He did an okay job, but I haven't seen a standout host in a long time. Then last night seemed to go back to the same stuff, mainly because Jon Bon Jovi (who did pretty well with what he had to deliver) is not an actor or a comedian. But, I did enjoy seeing THREE musical performances overall, something that hasn't been done since U2 in 2004 or 2005. And the Jack Nicholson cameo was awesome. I wish he would host. I think his SNL appearance in 1997 was the last time he appeared on a TV show.

But now Brian Williams is hosting, which is three crap hosts out of four. And I don't mean to disrespect Jon Bon Jovi like that, but only Seth Rogen was qualified to host.

Also, according to Wikipedia (and his MySpace), Jonah Hill (Superbad, Evan Almighty, Accepted) will be hosting on November 17th. Not bad.

Seth Rogen may have been the most qualified on paper to host, but I thought his show was the worst of the three so far. Not to say he was the worst, but the show was just so bad that he couldn't help it. I'm really not sure what to expect with Williams, he's funny when he appears on late night talk shows, especially Stewart and Colbert, but SNL is a different animal, but they've already had an athlete, an actor, and a musician host and flop, so it's not like Williams can be THAT bad, comparatively speaking.


Oh, I think I may have to skip that week. I can't stand Jonah Hill and thought he was the worst part of Superbad. Can't they just get Alec Baldwin to host again.

I love the Chevy Chase portion of Weekend Update. Have they been doing that long?

It was only a one time thing. I think that was his first appearance on the show in about six or seven years.

So that was really him then? Ha, I thought it was Darrell Hammond.

Poor Chevy. He's really looking old. There's about fifteen years of his life (the past fifteen years) that he could have and should have been either a star of comedy films or his own TV show.

I've read that this is the first of several Chevy appearances this season on SNL. Don't know if it's true or not.

Anyway, Chevy's segment was probably the highlight of the season so far, even though if it was a bit sketchy in spots, and it felt... weird. I also liked Jason Sudeikis's Dane Cook sketches from Saturday's show. Kristen Wiig is good as always, but she hasn't had a standout sketch this season. And I liked "People Getting Punched While They Eat". But for the most part, the show has sucked a lot more than usual so far.

And the host selection is sucking so far. I like Seth Rogen, but he wasn't an extraordinary host. And unlike AgentX, I did think his episode was the best of the three, but that's really not saying much. Jon Bon Jovi is a good guy, but he's definitely not an actor or a comedian. And no comment on LeBron James. Of the first six hosts, three of them will be non-acting hosts (LeBron, Brian Williams, Bon Jovi) and two of them will be from the Judd Apatow group (Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill). Maybe Paul Rudd will host on the 10th. Which would be awesome. Way moreso than Jonah Hill.

I just finsihed watching the Brian Williams episode on TiVo. From watching it, you'd almost think this would be next week's episode with the writers possibly going on strike, because outside of a couple of things, and the thing at the end with the Nightly News promo ad, there just wasn't anything funny. That was easily the worst episode in quite sometime.

And for those curious, next week's episode is going on as planned with The Rock as host and Amy Winehouse as the musical guest. I have no idea how they'll be able to pull it off though.

November 17th's show with Jonah Hill however, has been cancelled for the time being.

I think the problem with SNL is that they simply have too many people who have been there too long. It was supposed to be the not ready for prime time players but it seems to have become dominated by a handful of ageing regulars who look well paid and pampered, and not struggling at all.

Andy Samberg is the model for the type of person I think they need, young people with a lot of energy and itching to show people what they can do, even if it isn't always great.

I feel like when you tell Jonah Hill he can host SNL that you know there's no way in hell you're actually going on.

Maya Rudolph really needs to go. She's gone from being one of my favorite cast memebers back in the day, to someone who's just there because she's paid and it's easy for her. She puts very little effort into the shows these days.

Feist's performance was good this week though.

While the writing is sucking even more than usual, I liked the effort that Brian Williams put in to the show. It surprised me that he didn't completely suck.

As for the cast, I would've disagreed a year ago about breaking up the cast, but now it's almost essential in order for the show to break out of this post-Will Ferrell era and into its own era. Last year, most of the cast had some solid standout moments, especially Wiig and Samberg (with Samberg's moments mainly coming from the Digital Shorts). I'll break it down by cast member:

Fred Armisen (Keep 'im): In a season where no one is standing out (or being given the opportunity to stand out), he has made me laugh a few times, and I don't think he's ever been used to his fullest potential. He's not a Ferrell where he can work with anything, but if he's given the right sketch or idea, he can do very well.

Will Forte (Lose 'im): I would've seriously defended Forte up until this season. But now I see no reason to keep him. He's got some funny characters (The Falconer, Tim Calhoon, MacGruber), but I wouldn't miss any of them if he left.

Bill Hader (Keep 'im): Like Armisen, he hasn't been given a chance to shine. He could be a better, younger Darrell Hammond, with some strong impersonations. He probably will never be a standout actor in movies, but he could be doing a lot better on SNL.

Darrell Hammond (Lose 'im): His impersonations are seriously outdated. Aside from Clinton and Gore, he doesn't have much that I'll miss. What makes me worried is that Hilary will be elected and Darrell will be kept around forever, just based on his Bill. 13 years is about 5 years too long. Time to hang it up, Darrell. Too bad his career will be finished after SNL, at least as far as TV and movies go.

Seth Meyers (Lose 'im): I don't know what to do with Meyers. With stronger writing, Weekend Update could be a lot better. Meyers is a decent enough anchor, but I don't honestly think Update has been good at all since Tina Fey left. What's worse for Meyers is that he's one of the head writers for SNL. If he's responsible for the deteriorating quality, then lose 'im. If not, then I wouldn't mind seeing a Poehler-less Update with Meyers + stronger writing.

Amy Poehler (Lose 'er): I like Amy a lot, but she has been a bit grating in the last season or two. I find she tries too hard sometimes. If the lack of anyone standing out has helped a cast member, it's Poehler. I find she's a bit more tolerable this year than last. If I had to choose between Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler, I would probably keep Amy. In terms of what I can see on TV, Amy contributes a lot more than Seth. But I think there might be a fresher, funnier comedienne that could join the show and breathe new life into the cast.

Maya Rudolph (Lose 'er): Another great comedienne who has lost her touch this year. The whole "I quit/I'm back/I quit again/Okay, I'll stay" thing before the season started shows that she doesn't really want to be there, she's probably just in it for the money. To be honest, she'd be better off without SNL right now. She could probably get her own sitcom by now.

Andy Samberg (Keep 'im): Not only does he have the Digital Shorts (which I don't think should show up in every single episode), but he does pretty well in the live sketches when he's given the chance to shine. He's not perfect, but he's exactly what SNL needs right now.

Jason Sudeikis (Keep 'im): Virtually non-existent so far this season. But, he has another two seasons under his belt that prove to me that he needs to stay. The bloated cast has affected him most this year, which is unfortunate. SNL needs to remember their four strongest assets: Hader, Samberg, Sudeikis and Wiig.

Kenan Thompson (Lose 'im): All I know about him is that he basically plays the same character in every sketch. Whether he's an old black woman, a kid, or a political figure, he always has that same goofy face like he's about to start laughing at himself.

Kristen Wiig (Keep 'er): While I think she's the best cast member on SNL currently, she's a bit like Poehler. She can try a bit too hard sometimes (or perhaps the writers know that she can be a bit over-the-top and they give her those characters a lot). She has some funny recurring characters, a few funny impersonations that the show has abandoned, and she's solid overall in anything she does. Like everyone else, unfortunately, she's been a bit hidden this year.

To recap...

Keep 'em: Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis & Kristen Wiig.
Lose 'em: Will Forte, Darrell Hammond, Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph & Kenan Thompson.
Please don't let 'im anywhere near SNL ever again: Horatio Sanz.

If they kept those five and added in maybe two girls and a guy, the show would be perfect.

I always thought Meyers was a standout when he was a regular live sketch guy. As an anchor... not so much.

The first post strike SNL will be Feb 23. Hosting: Tina Fey

I was expecting them to pick someone like her, if not her. Great choice for obvious reasons. It'll be interesting to see what they do for the opener.

Yay Tina Fey, BUT.

More importantly!

Ellen Page might host on March 1st!! :D

This show is going to be so much better when Poehler leaves.

I actually love her.

The show's been pretty funny tonight.

I loved the "I Drink Your Milkshake!" skit.

Decent first show back. The "Milkshake" sketch and the period commercial were the highlights for me. And a good first show for Casey Wilson. I wasn't expecting much, and considering the fact that she looked somewhat scared shitless, she managed to do pretty well. But surprisingly, Tina Fey wasn't that great. She had no presence whatsoever as a host.

And so I guess Maya Rudolph is gone for good now?