Is it Bitch Thirty PM? Then it’s time to find out how Kevin Hart did as ‘SNL’ host

I wrote SNL recaps for the original version of Popculturology from 2012 to 2015. The opinions voiced in these recaps may be outdated based on the events that have occurred since their writing. This article was originally published on March 3, 2013.

Welcome to Edition No. 15 of Sunday Morning Live, Popculturology's look at the latest episode of Saturday Night Live. All of your questions about the Kevin Hart-hosted episode will be answered after the jump.

How'd Hart do?

If you've read any article on Popculturology about Hart hosting SNL, you've heard us mention the fact that the actor is the least-known host of Season 38. In fact, after checking out a few other sites posting about Hart's upcoming episode over the weekend, Hart just might be the SNL host with the least name recognition in years. Think about it — go tell your parents that Justin Timberlake is hosting SNL next weekend, and they'll know exactly who you're talking about. Now ask them what they know Hart from. You'll probably get a blank stare. Hart's SNL anonymity aside, the actor delivered an enthusiastic and fast-paced hosting performance, often relying on his frenetic energy to bring home the laughs.

The 360° News sketch that closed out the episode was a perfect example of this. Hart was handed a pretty weak premise for a sketch but pour himself into it. Let's go back to that monologue for a second. First off, thank you, SNL, for not relying on a musical monologue to prop up a host. We agreed after last episode that we wouldn't be going to that well anymore this season, so I'm happy to see that you're sticking to our deal. Hart's monologue began like that of Louis C.K. and Dane Cook*, other standup comedians making their SNL debut, with a standup set carrying the weight of the segment. Hart's monologue was able to draw on some personal SNL history, as it turns out he once auditioned for the show but didn't get hired.

In non-Hart news, diehard SNL fans picked up on the show's opening credits sounding a bit off tonight. While NBC hasn't made a statement, it seems that longtime SNL announcer Don Pardo hasn't announced the opening cast list either this week or in Chris Waltz's episode. Pardo is 95, so a health issue wouldn't be a surprise. I haven't been able to verify it, but there's a theory that former SNL castmember Darrell Hammond has been stepping in to announce the cast in his best Pardo voice.

What were the best sketches of the night?

SNL often turns mediocre (or awful) sketches into recurring bits, blindly ignoring the fact that no one thinks they're funny. This is the only explanation for why the show still rolls out a new edition of The Californians every other episode. Luckily, someone realized the potential in the sketch featuring Bobby Moynihan and Cecily Strong as McDonald's employees who, believing they're about to be fired, launch into a profanity laced and insult-filled tirade against their coworkers. After SNL introduced Niff and Dana in Anne Hathaway's episode earlier this season, the duo returned for Hart's episode, this time taking on the employees at a Barnes and Noble. I could turn this article into a full tribute to this sketch, but for now, I'll just leave you with this smackdown of Niff's: "Time of bitch? Bitch thirty p.m. January bitchteenth. Two thousand and bitch."

When I saw that SNL was doing a Walking Dead sketch, I assumed that they were going to make a joke out of the fact that the show's black characters not only have very short lifespans but also seems to play by some rule that there can only be one male black character on the show at a time. SNL did play the race card, but instead made it the awkward reason why the show's characters couldn't turn away Hart's character after he was bit by a zombie. Luckily Carl was there to finally put a bullet in the zombie, something that he was totally ready to do. As Nasim Pedrad's Carl pointed out, "I shot my own mom when she was turning into a zombie and it didn't screw up my head at all." Oh, Carl, so well adjusted.

I just enjoyed watching an exasperated Hart yell "A BUBBLE BATH! Best of luck on that, stupid!' and "Maybe, just maybe, I'd bring the whole goddam bag!" after two Dove Chocolate executives kept insisting that his character was their pick for their new commercial. That said, I enjoyed the recording booth sketch on SNL much more when it was Andy Samberg's Blizzard Man behind the mic.

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Nothing will ever recapture the magic of an installment of Really!?! With Seth and Amy, but SNL keeps trying to rekindle that spark. Hart gave it his best try, but the laughs that he delivered were more from his inability to say a line, which caused the actor to curse at himself. "Goddammit, Kevin! I got this!"

You predicted that SNL would do another Pope sketch? How'd that prediction turn out?

After seeing how SNL did address Pope Benedict XVI's final days as pope this episode, I kind of wish I was wrong on this prediction. Instead of delivering some kind of witty commentary on the situation, SNL aired a sketch that was basically a combination of any random jokes the show's writers had lying around. A little bit ofJason Sudeikis' Wolf Blitzer. A dash of "Kevin Hart is short (and black) so he can play Oscar nominee Quvenzhane Wallis." An awful wig. Fred Armisen doing his Fred Armisen face. Even if SNL believed it had to have this sketch, it shouldn't have been the second post-monologue sketch. Bury these dead-on-arrival sketches after 12:30.

Anything political this week? Did Sudeikis break out the Mitt Romney sketch?

Nope. I was shocked that SNL decided to make the sequester the centerpiece of the cold open. Unlike a presidential campaign or Joe Biden, the sequester isn't quite something that the average American makes jokes about all day.

How about Pseudo Digital Shorts or commercials?

Not only did SNL skip the Pseudo Digital Shorts this episode, but the show also chose to rerun its Starbucks Verismo fake commercial from earlier in the season. Boo, SNL. Boo.