Saturday Night Live Louis C.K. / Sam Smith

learned:

* funny flubs, and historic: I've never seen a mess-up at the very beginning of the cold open, at the first line. Obama was unsure if he should say his line or wait until after the applause. also, I've never seen a skit where the entire meaning of the skit rests on the last line, and that last line is flubbed. when Louis does this in the clothed-sex skit, it's hilarious because Louis is charming.

* monologue: Show, please go back to this format, especially when you have stand-ups as hosts. don't squeeze them into lame skits or musical numbers, just let them do their thing, let them be who they are and tell their jokes their way. it was like paying for a ticket to see Louis's raunchy show at a club but not.

* Sam Smith: who knew? the only Stan Smith I knew was a tennis legend. I'm glad I stuck around, Sam is a soulful torch singer with a powerful voice.

* clothed-sex scene: speaking of, the whole cut-a-hole-in-your-clothes method of intercourse was how I imagined it was done, how my parents and everyone else did it. seriously. this was before my discovery of porn...

* I love the guy who did the student-council president vote-for-me video. he is head and shoulders above the rest of the newbie cast members when it comes to originality and vibrant creativity, his filmed skits rise way above the normal SNL set sets and broad Broadway comedy. his creation here is that dude you knew in high school who was street smart but had ADD so he wasn't book smart. he was indie before it was cool. he's like Trent Reznor or Kurt Cobain if they ran for president, except Trent would embrace rap, not shun it. and, let's face it, Kurt would never run for president.