The Three Must-See Sketches from the Peter Dinklage Hosted 'SNL'

By Dustin Rowles | Saturday Night Live | April 3, 2016 |

By Dustin Rowles | Saturday Night Live | April 3, 2016 |

Peter Dinklage hosted last night’s Saturday Night Live, but for the most part, Dinklage was poorly used by the cast, who didn’t seem to know what to do with him, and that extended to the monologue, as well. Truthfully, Dinklage didn’t seem all that comfortable, and with the exception of the last sketch, didn’t really get any opportunities to be funny. He played straight man and set-up guy all night.

That said, there were two sketches definitely worth checking out: The pre-taped Naked and Afraid Celebrity Edition with Dinklage and Leslie Jones, and Dinklage’s bizarre Space Pants sketch. Otherwise, “Weekend Update” was the only other segment worth watching.

Cold Open — CNN’s Kate Bolduan (Kate McKinnon) opposite Cecily Strong’s dumb Trump supporter dimly trying to defend Trump’s stance on abortion was necessary after the week that Trump had, but the take was a little too obvious (as always, it’s hard to parody a self-parody). On the other hand, after a few weeks away, it was good to see McKinnon and Strong again. (Score: 5 out of 5)

Peter Dinklage Monologue — A really short monologue with a few almost passable Game of Thrones jokes. The only thing notable about it was that Peter Dinklage shaved for the show. Sadly, Dinklage’s monologue epitomizes his night: Brief and inconsequential. (Score: 2/10)

Winnie the Pooh — Dinklage as Winnie the Pooh (?) and straight-man to Jay Pharaoh’s Denny the Real, Pooh’s real-talk cousin who crashes Pooh’s party and brings Pooh a pair of pants and tries to get him to introduce him to whores. Eesh. This is not going well. (Score: 3/10)

Naked and Afraid — I am fairly certain that Naked and Afraid is a real show, where people walk around naked in the forest and try to survive? This is a parody of that, which is amusing if you like the idea of naked Leslie Jones spooning with naked Peter Dinklage. (Score: 7/10)

Space Pants — I have no idea what’s going on here. It is both horrible and sublime. I love it. I hate it. It’s the greatest worst sketch ever. (Score: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ out of 10).

Glory Hole — A restaurant renovated from an old sex parlor maintains the glory hole and, uh, makes splendid use of it. It’s bizarre and creepy and hilariously surreal. (Score: 6/10)

Game of Thrones First Look Promo Parody — Turns out, the dragons are mo-capped versions of an obnoxious guy named Randy (Bobby Moynihan). Eh. There are worse ways to incorporate GoT into the show, but there are also much better. (Score: 5 out of 10)

Weekend Update — Che and Jost continue to crush it, and why shouldn’t they with Donald Trump and Colin Jost’s whiteness to pick on. Pete Davidson also does well with the Gawker/Hulk Hogan sex tape trial, but I couldn’t care less about Kenan’s Big Papi segment. (Score: 8/10)

Underwater Hotel — A hotel room under the sea has a great view into the ocean until a dead body (Taran Killam) floats by. Smart idea, but only modestly amusing. (Score: 5/10)

Vacation Nightmare — The joke: Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant in beards are the only actors they can get to reenact a violent crime scene involving two dangerous Danish men. It’s yet another sketch that doesn’t really take advantage of the host. (Score: 2/10)

Peterson Realty Retreat — After underusing Dinklage all night, he finally gets to star in a sketch where he plays a douchebag boss who takes issue with a magician’s joke. It’s a fine sketch, and Dinklage is very good in it, but it was also the third or fourth sketch that seemed to end abruptly. (Score: 5/10)