‘Saturday Night Live’ review: Garth & Kat, Target Lady, ‘Mom’s a Ghost,’ Kristen Wiig rule

You’ve waited for it, you’ve probably tweeted about it, and odds are, some of you were probably even watching Kristen Wiig’s “Saturday Night Live” wearing a Gilly wig. There were so many reasons to be excited, but also reasons to be skeptical: Not everyone was a Wiig fan when the woman was on the show, and some of her best sketches were probably overrated thanks to her leaving the show. (It happens.)

We can’t say that this was a perfect edition of the show. Some things genuinely weren’t that funny. With that being said, this was the funniest “SNL” by a mile since Melissa McCarthy’s, and a nice slice of nostalgia for everyone who loves what Wiig brought to the show for many years. It’s basically like not having any apple pie for a year, and then getting a whole one to eat by yourself. By the end, you definitely had your fill, and you were rather satisfied.

The highlights

Kristen Wiig monologue – At first, we were genuinely worried about the program the moment that Kristen started singing, but then things managed to get so much better when we understood what the real point of this was. Kristen hilariously acting like she was so familiar with the show, only to later show she had no clue where anything was. Plus, great cameos from Jonah Hill and Maya Rudolph, and a llama that was just randomly in the background.

Mother’s Day with 1-800-Flowers – “SNL” loves to mock this holiday, and this one (for a certain flower brand) was probably the best one ever after Kristen tried to celebrate her annoying, terrible, and gossip-loving mother. A simple but effective premise, especially since we have a feeling at least 50% of the viewing audience could relate.

“Aw Nuts! Mom’s a Ghost” – This was demented, hilarious, and all kinds of awesome. The best bit of the night. Just having this be a Disney Channel show made it even better, especially since Wiig’s character of dead mom looked kind of like that creepy woman in the “American Horror Story: Asylum” teasers. In the middle of some many reprisals, we loved having an original to laugh at.

“The Lawrence Welk Show” – There are people who love this sketch, and those who hate it. Personally, this worked mostly because it’s been forever since we have seen it on the show. Plus, it brought us another great Wiig character after Gilly had a cameo during the monologue.

“Weekend Update” – Cheers for Anthony Crispino! One of our favorite guests stopped by to give his Secondhand news, and the lines about Reese Witherspoon and Chris Christie were hysterical. Then, there was Garth & Kat. We weren’t even their biggest fans back when Wiig was on the show, but seeing them back at this point was a treat with their impromptu musical performances.

Target Lady – One of our favorite Wiig sketches was back, with great jokes about same-sex marriage, maxi pads, driving to Florida, and other assorted nonsense. This sketch is really all about the writing and Kristen’s performance, and it worked every time.

The bloody massage – This was one of those sketches that really lasted a lot longer than it really needed to, and there was no real ending to it that could have worked. We just have to give major props to Aidy Bryant and Kristen for managing to keep their cool in a sketch that literally had enough flake blood tossed around to make Dexter Morgan barf.

The lowlights

Jodi Arias / Benghazi cold open  – Anytime we see “SNL” open the show with a “C-SPAN” banner, we groan a little. Then, we got a sketch like this hosted by Kristen Wiig. What gives? Why not lead with what you’re good at? We do at least think the premise was pretty clever: A Congressional hearing that was merely a ratings ploy in order to exploit the ratings of the Jodi Arias trial.

“The Californians” – While we said that tonight was really the only time that “SNL” could do this sketch again and get away with it, that doesn’t mean that we legitimately wanted to see it happen. We are just so over this, and even seeing Rudolph show up again (with a voice that we could barely understand) could not save this sketch and its silly facial reactions and That. Freaking. Mirror.

The dating sketch – Some sketches at the end of the night are funny. This one, about women cougaring over 6th-graders, was just uncomfortable. Also, who imagined that Cecily Strong would project more than the veteran Wiig?

At the end of the day, we’ll take a few duds like the Californians if we get to see Wiig do her thing again, and “SNL” nostalgia is welcome from time to time. Next week, Ben Affleck will try to shake things up in his own return to the show, but we’re guessing he will probably not wear an afro at any point.

The poll below welcomes your vote! Meanwhile, we also have plenty of clips from “SNL” this season worth watching here.

Photo: NBC