Let's be honest, whenever a host pulls double duty as the musical guest, everyone's expectations are pretty low. It's a tough thing to do for anyone who isn't Justin Timberlake -- who got a little shout out from Bruno Mars in his monologue. Lucky for us, after the mandatory debate cold open and an impressive if not very funny monologue, Mars lead a solid episode. Besides being Mars' debut as a host, this episode marked a few firsts. It was the first time new featured player Aidy Bryant was given more than one line and featured the season's first appearance of Stefon, who, of course, didn't disappoint. Here's a look at some of this week's best sketches that would make Justin proud.

HBO's The Girl is the first of two movies about one of cinema's most iconic filmmakers, Alfred Hitchcock, that are rolling out in the next month; the Anthony Hopkins-led Hitchcock opens in limited release over Thanksgiving weekend. Neither one is a straight-up biopic either, instead choosing to focus their attention on a relatively limited window in the Master of Suspense's career -- Hitchcock takes place during the production of Psycho, while The Girl unfolds within the roughly two-year window during which he made The Birds and Marnie. Both movies are also less concerned with how these particular movies came together than in exploring the psychology of the man who made them. And the picture they paint of the Master of Suspense isn't exactly flattering.

Looks like Andy Samberg is getting a badge and a gun.

Does anyone else have that "On Top of Spaghetti" song in their head after Deena's solo drinking day? Until she finds a partner, we'll look at the people who were truly awful this week and not just merely sad and pathetic.

The 2012 fall TV season is under way, but since most of the new series have been largely underwhelming, we're already looking forward to the shows that will be helping us get through the winter (and spring) doldrums in 2013.

To see what made the list, >click here.

I laughed a lot during "Sex Education," but I wouldn't call it a great episode of Parks and Recreation. Season 5 has been off to a fairly slow start, and I'm wondering if sectioning off two major players of the cast to another city maybe wasn't the best idea in the world. I love Ben and April together, but aside from building a nice little friendship, I don't really see how far the plot of the show can be moved along with the two of them joking around in Washington... unless one (or both?) of them leaves their partner, something that I'm pretty positive isn't going to happen. (Though my research has led me to find a tiny community of Apren/Benpril shippers and apparently there's some pretty convincing fan fiction out there, though I sure as hell am not ever going to read it.)

Just two guys in need of a new job.

One of the best parts of Parenthood this season has been watching Sarah and Hank pretend to avoid their obvious sexual tension -- and when then finally did kiss in "There's Something I Need to Tell You...", it was an instant series highlight. Lauren Graham and Ray Romano took a media call earlier this week to discuss the 'ship heard 'round the world, and tried their best to not talk about Gilmore Girls and Everybody Loves Raymond... luckily, they didn't entirely succeed. Below are the highlights.

"The Butler's Escape" was one of the episodes of Modern Family that could have greatly benefited with a little bit of subtlety. Instead, every joke and reveal seemed to be hammered in our faces, stopping ever so short of attaching a laugh track. There's nothing wrong with humor in plain sight or anything, but it's one of the reasons I'll always prefer to re-watch Arrested Development for the umpteenth time over Modern Family -- there are no hidden little gems. Compare last week's bench gag to the one Arrested Development did much more delicately, not to mention, first. I don't think "The Butler's Escape," nor any episode of Modern Family is hiding these fun Easter eggs that make some great sitcoms like AD so compulsively re-watchable. Instead, the writers make an extended effort to make sure we catch all of the jokes right away. It doesn't make those gags less funny the first time or anything, but their longevity... isn't really on the radar.

Who knew Mario Lopez could be relevant for more than one reason in a single day?