episode: SNL, "neil patrick harris"

Last night's episode of SNL had a lot to offer fans, though -- being a fan of NPH's sexy, sexy voice -- I was disappointed that he didn't sing beyond a few bars of Rent's "Seasons of Love" during the Broadway sketch. The show opened with a sketch on Blagojevich and Rachel Maddow. And later they did a "Save Broadway" sketch that, really, only a small percentage of viewers would understand. But the SNL studio is in New York, so they kind of had to do a sketch on the falling ticket sales. (Though, how many people got the absent Jeremy Piven joke?) And on a side note, I've met both Anthony Rapp (the OBC Mark from Rent) and Neil Patrick Harris (who played the autobiographical lead from Jonathan Larson's other musical, Tick, Tick... BOOM!), and I know that these actors know each other. I wonder if NPH called up Anthony Rapp and was like, "Hey, I'm going to make fun of your mannerisms, and it's going to be spot-on."

But, whereas the Broadway sketch just seemed to be referential, I thought the "You know how I met your mother" opening monologue (Andy Samberg's Mark Wahlberg: "Say hi to the cast of How I Met Your Mother for me") and the send-up of Frost/Nixon with NPH as David Frost interviewing other celebrities (David Crosby is a coked up walrus!) were really strong sketches. The best segment, of course, was the much adored Penelope at a meeting for divorcées. Not only did she invent air, but her best friends are Liza Minnelli and a tomato!