What's one way to turn things around after a rocky start to Season 5? Bring in one of the greatest SNL hosts of all time to right the ship. That's right—Buck's back! Buck Henry returns for his ninth (and penultimate) hosting appearance, and this time he brings along a little-known rock 'n' roll band on the rise: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

For the first time this season, things seem to be okay. In the capable hands of one of the best hosts to ever do it, the cast and writers feel freed from any specters hanging over them and start to find their new identity. With a mix of old favorites (recurring characters, live commercial parodies, a faux disrespect for Buck) and new elements (very long sketches, actors you've never seen before leading sketches, Buck with a beard), Saturday Night Live finally gives the audience a taste of what they've been looking for all season.

As we like to do every season, we're joined once again by The Saturday Night Network's Jon Schneider. We talk toads, Loopner love, and reveal some very private personal habits while driving. Things are looking up!

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The professional athlete well is tapped once again as Hall of Fame NBA player (and coach!) Bill Russell hosts this outing of SNL. Chicago, in all their funky glory, let it all hang out as the musical guest. And yet...

The cast tries their best, but the host - who looks genuinely excited to be there - just doesn't have the range or chops to help lift this one up. We do get a couple of familiar elements (recurring characters, Garrett in drag), some pretty solid impressions (courtesy of Jane), and that new guy doing a commercial pitch. We also learn that there is only ONE ball used in basketball and are witness to the start of a new trend—a VERY long sketch after the monologue. Sadly, no Buck cameo this week. It's no surprise even Mr. Bill wanted to stay home.

To help us dig through this episode of Saturday Night Live, we're joined by noted Chicago historian Thomas Sena. Taking a break from his own podcast (the name of which escapes us), he helps tell the story of the band, defends the stiffness of the host, and joins us on one last trip to the mall.

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SNL continues to roll out the heavy hitters for Season 5, bringing two absolute legends to Studio 8H as Eric Idle returns for his fourth (and sadly final) hosting stint joined by the unequaled Bob Dylan as musical guest. If that wasn’t enough, Andy Kaufman is back on the show as well!

Can a lineup like this help Saturday Night Live get back on track? Well…Idle was very sick (true story), Dylan sings songs from his new Christian album (also true), and Kaufman wrestles a woman on live television. None of these things helped.

Despite a 100+ fever, our host soldiers through with admirable determination, giving everything he's got to salvage the show. But still, the absence of two cast members remains sorely missed (and another still looks annoyed to still be there). And yet, there are a few bright spots as the show gets meta, one of the all-time great hosts cameos again (two weeks in a row!), and there is some wonderfully silly absurdness you can only get when a member of Monty Python hosts the show.

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