Megorious

Last night voice of God and anchor of the NBC Nightly News, Brian Williams, hosted the funniest Saturday Night Live of the season.

The opening sketch, about the Democratic presidential candidates at the Clinton’s halloween party, set the tone for the show as one of the more intelligent SNL in recent memories. That sketch was sans Williams but it wasn’t sans Sanz, as Horatio Sanz, sans at least 40 pounds, returned to play an ultra-convincing Bill Richardson. There was also a cameo from the real Barack Obama, who wore a Barack Obama mask. And bonus points to Will Forte for his spot-on portrayal as John Edwards.

All surprise guests aside, it was Williams’ show and he did not disappoint. The dignified opening monologue had impeccable timing and showed a deadpan side of Williams - a skill that obviously comes from being a news anchor - that would continue throughout the night.

In his first sketch, “Bronx Beat,” Williams seemed rather awkward and uncomfortable as a NY firefighter, but then I realized he was just acting the part. He was damn good at it too.

Next up, Williams was Barry, an actor who was on Quantum Leap “twice in the same episode”, who played Principal Jefferies on the fictional CW show “Riley’s Way.” The sketch revolved around filming the final shot of the show’s final episode when Principal Jefferies learns of a spinoff, “Riley’s Way: The College Years,” that he hasn’t been invited to participate in. Hilarity ensues.

Another sketch, where Williams played Carl Bacon, the most unenthusiastic Publisher’s Clearing House winner EVAR, truly showed off Williams’ deadpan abilities. But the icing on the cake had to be the Digital Short about Williams’ daily work routine, which includes dropping pennies from the top of Rockerfeller Plaza at “the morning duo” of Al Roker and Matt Lauer. Bonus points to Lauer for calling Williams an “asshole.”

After a mildly funny “Weekend Update,” there was a gay Dumbledore sketch, sans Williams, that dragged on a little too long.

Williams played himself in the final two sketches. The first was about last week’s Democratic presidential debate, which Williams moderated. Between this and the opening sketch, SNL has every Democratic candidate nailed. The final sketch, featuring pitches for a hipper intro to the NBC Nightly News, closed the show out on a high note. I can’t describe it, you’ve just got to see Williams in the James Bond-esque intro.

There was a lot of concern in advance of Williams’ gig (including his own) that revolved around the danger of loosing his credibility as a journalist. Well, I’ve got news for Brian Williams: you might be in the wrong line of work.