snl

In the midst of an otherwise dull (and occasionally painful) red carpet special that aired before the SNL 40th anniversary show, special guest Jim Carrey livened things up by by making Matt Lauer really uncomfortable. His comedic weapon of choice? The recently suspended/disgraced NBC newsman Brian Williams.

Super Bowl commercials are still a big, huge, massive, crazy deal, with major corporations shelling out absurd amounts of money on ads designed to win over the most reliably large and receptive audience in all of televised sports. So of course ‘SNL’ was going to contribute its own commercial parody to the mix...but man, no one was expecting something this mean, scathing or on-point.

NBC has been surprisingly quiet about ‘SNL’'s impending 40th anniversary special, but VH1 has upped the nostalgia ante in a major way. VH1 Classic will begin a 19-day marathon of ‘SNL’'s 40 years on January 28, working backwards through 433 episodes and staging themed mini-marathons along the way.

As if we hadn't seen 'The Hunger Games' or 'True Detective' mocked enough, 'SNL' will take an official turn with one of the major stars. Woody Harrelson has been reaped from the existing pool of victors to host 'SNL' a third time later on in November, with fellow repeat star and musical guest Kendrick Lamar.

The unfortunate and untimely death of the great Jan Hooks this past week sent the comedy world into mourning, with countless writers and comics stepping forward to pay tribute to the late 'SNL' star. It could have been easy for this week's new episode to gloss over the passing of one of their own (it is a comedy show, after all), but 'SNL' has always been a slightly class institution -- it remembers those who came before.

As is often the case, the weirdest sketch from last night's 'SNL' season premiere was easily the funniest in the entire show. The latest in Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney's series of truly strange sketches and shorts, the scene is an exacting parody of lousy '90s television that sidesteps all obvious jokes in favor of making fun of a very specific kind of TV show.

You don't have to be a sports fan to know that the NFL has come under fire in recent weeks for how it has handled (or failed to handle) its players committing all kinds of heinous crimes. Although this is a very serious matter that has football fans deeply troubled and concerned about the future of their favorite sport, it's certainly not above satire, which is where 'SNL' comes in.

When you have 'Guardians of the Galaxy' star Chris Pratt guest hosting your season premiere of 'SNL,' you find time for a Marvel sketch. Much like how the show poked fun at 'The Avengers' when Jeremy Renner hosted, this episode found a very game Pratt participating in an amusing fake movie trailer that not only made fun of his space opera blockbuster, but Marvel Studios in general.

It's taking me a while to get used to the new late night TV line-up. Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmell, the guy replacing Craig Ferguson. With the exception of Kimmell, I don't really care the latest crop of Carson wannabes. I always liked Ferguson, but he's quitting the Late Late Show at the end of this year and I'm assuming that I won't like the new guy...

Of the many changes in store for the 40th season of 'SNL,' none would prove so heartbreaking as the loss of beloved announcer Don Pardo, who passed away earlier this year. No one could ever replace Pardo's distinct intonation announcing every 'SNL' installment, though the new voice of the sketch comedy series will at least be a familiar one, as distinguished alum Darrell Hammond takes the mic.