Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was more than a good sport on last night’s Saturday Night Live; he was just downright good. Liked him in the opening musical number, liked him in a grass skirt, liked him as “The Rock Obama” (“Interesting point, but… me no like!”):

SNL‘s traditional late-in-the-show, gratuitously-weird sketch this week was actually funny, as Johnson and Bill Hader pulled off a goofy sounding premise — TV sports-show hosts, one of whom (Hader) is an alien — on the strength of Hader’s terrifically odd alien playing off The Rock’s solid straight-man.

One Rock-less moment I enjoyed: the “Weekend Update” segment featuring Andy Samberg’s endearing obsession with the comic-strip character “Cathy,” this time featuring cameos from Justin Timberlake and a Jessica Rabbit-ized Jessica Biel. Oh, and Darrell Hammond’s Donald Trump doing promo spots for Celebrity Apprentice was excellent, as was Michaela Watkins’ Joan Rivers and — there he was again — Dwayne Johnson’s Dennis Rodman.

There; is that a positive-enough SNL recap for you?

Okay, I can’t resist: The “MacGruber” sketches really have to be retired. Ditto Kristen Wiig’s Jamie Lee Curtis, Activia spoofs.

And musical guest Ray LaMontange sounded liked a cross between Michael McDonald and John Mayer. I’d add “and not in a good way,” but there is no good way to cross Michael McDonald and John Mayer…

Well, Jimmy Fallon has completed his first week as Late Night host and as far as we’re concerned, the honeymoon is over, right? Some final thoughts on the week:

• Fallon saved his most feeble taped sketch, a Fallon-centric parody of The Hills and The City, for Friday night. Also last night, Drew Barrymore all too enthusiastically played the lame game of “Lick It For Ten.” Ugh.

• I wrote about Craig Ferguson’s interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu earlier this week, but his most engaging, amusing, spontaneous interview this week was on Thursday night with Holly Hunter. No other current host gets more out of guests than Ferguson; no guests get more out of a host than they do from Ferguson:

• The other Jimmy, Kimmel, had the best coverage of reality TV, mocking The Bachelor and American Idol with the best jokes. But that means you have to care, on some level, about The Bachelor and American Idol.

Who’d you like best this week?

“I want you people out of my life!” yelled Jeffrey Donovan’s Michael in last night’s season finale of Burn Notice. Isn’t that what he’s been saying pretty much all season? In previous episodes, it was sometimes tempting to think he was saying the same thing to the show’s writers. But last night, all was redeemed, as far as I was concerned. If you don’t want to know the finale details yet, consider this your SPOILER WARNING and scram now.

In an earlier post I’d complained about how the Carla/Victor stuff was getting in the way of Burn Notice‘s momentum — snipping the satisfying snap of Michael’s voiceovers, as he described tricks of the spy trade while we watch him craft weapons or execute bone-snapping punches and kicks. But last night, everything clicked into place. In an hour written by creator Matt Nix and directed by Tim Matheson (yes, the actor who must be weary of being credited as Animal House‘s Otter, and a darn good TV director), Michael united with his nemesis Victor (Michael Shanks) against his handler-against-his-will Carla (Tricia Helfer). We got some backstory — Carla killed Victor’s family, which is why he hates Carla — but most of the time, we got the action we craved.

Not only did Michael do a lot of shooting, car-crashing, and fighting, but Bruce Campbell’s Sam, tasked with guarding Sharon Gless’ Madeline, also dropped the jokes and did their own share of shooting and blowing things up. We were told by Michael how to make a “pepper [spray] grenade” and that one of the best ways to shoot at a car you’re chasing is to aim the bullets at the under-carriage, so the bullets come up through the enemy’s floorboards. This is the kind of stuff we Burn fans eat up, isn’t it?

And how sweet the moment was when Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar) shot Carla; Fi’s muttered, “Finally!” was echoed among TV-watchers all across America. More jolting was Michael’s mercy-killing of Victor. The final scene, with Michael meeting with John Mahoney as “Management,” sets up a great next season, I think. Bravo.

So what did you think of the finale? Satisfied? Not?

Last night, Jimmy Fallon’s third show was by far his best yet. He was ad-libbing more easily (talking with guest Cameron Diaz about being a diva on Sesame Street, he spontaneously invented the new “Don’t Look At Me, Elmo” doll) and I chuckled at his new gesture when a monologue joke actually gets a laugh–he mimes bowling a strike.

Sure, still too much young-and-with-it awkwardness: reading Diaz questions from Twitter users? How Barbara Walters of you, Jimmy! The dance-off with Diaz was kind of fun, if a little too opening-of-every-Ellen De Generes-show. But overall, a definite improvement.

Meanwhile, Craig Ferguson’s guest last night was Archbishop Desmond Tutu, not exactly a mainstay of late-night entertainment. Ferguson’s conversation with the clergyman was by turns serious, funny, and sometimes both simultaneously (“When you don’t forgive, frequently you feel it in your tum-tum,” said the Archbishop, patting his own tummy) as they talked about race, God, good and evil. And nagging wives. All without reading from cue cards or notes. “I think you’re crazy!” Tutu chuckled at one point. Craig also told an excellent chess joke involving bishops.

Now, I am not for a second suggesting that late-night hosts should start booking more serious guests to boost their cred — even Ferguson said this hour contained “all the stuff that you don’t come to the show for.” Nor am I saying Fallon was the lesser host for yukking it up with Diaz while Ferguson chatted up a Nobel Peace Prize winner. These guys both make their living being, as Craig described himself last night, “a vulgar lounge entertainer.”

What I am saying is that Ferguson did a damn fine job interviewing Bishop Tutu without being intimidated or fawning, and in so doing, demonstrated the range of tones and subject matter that can be addressed on late-night TV to which Fallon can only aspire. No, I’m not sitting here hoping Fallon books the Archbishop of Canterbury on his show to demonstrate his chops and competitiveness (although, Jimmy, there’s a goldmine of comedy in all that some-churches-seceding-from-the-church thing going on in the Episcopal church).

But every time a late-night host stretches a little, whether it was Ferguson last night, or when David Letterman made his recent public apology to the late Bill Hicks’ mother as she sat next to him, these late nights get a little warmer, a little more nourishing, a little more welcoming.

Well, we can hope Jimmy Fallon got the most awkward moment of his first week out of the way last night: Impersonating Robert De Niro while the actor sat next to him, and then asking De Niro for approval: “That was pretty good, right?” Oh dear…

Everyone’s first day on the job is bound to be a bit awkward, and even though Fallon has spent months trying out ideas for Late Night on his website, he still looked nervous, his eyes locked onto the cue cards more frequently than at us. He did an ultra-ordinary monologue — one liners about President Obama and the deficit that sounded like material Jay Leno’s writers had faxed over from L.A. He tried to tweak the material by enlisting his house band, The Roots, to accompany him in a little segment he likes to call “Slow Jammin’ The News,” which consisted of Fallon and the band sing-speaking more topical jokes. There was also an audience-participation segment, “Lick It For Ten,” in which a few folks from the crowd came onstage to lick things like a lawn mower and a goldfish bowl, and Fallon gave them each ten bucks. The host didn’t display much rapport with ordinary citizens. Again, probably just opening-night nerves. As for De Niro:

The interview might have gone better if it hadn’t been scripted to within an inch of its life. Then again, given how monosyllabic De Niro tends to be, maybe not. There was also a very brief bit: Fallon and De Niro in the movie-we-never-knew-they-made-yuk-yuk, Space Train, with De Niro reading off a cue card, being a good sport. Being a good sport is not all that entertaining a pose to maintain.

Thank heaven for Justin Timberlake, Fallon’s next guest. The guy is such a relaxed, confident pro, the atmosphere energized and relaxed simultaneously. Fallon seemed truly thrilled to see his Saturday Night Live sketch-pal, and laughed with genuine, grateful appreciation when Timberlake busted out excellent John Mayer and Michael McDonald impersonations. This, and the closing-credit seconds, when Fallon hopped into the audience to greet two people I assume were his parents because we saw signs that said “Mom” and “Dad” over their heads, were the host’s most winning moments.

Van Morrison came out and rumbled through an Astral Weeks number and Fallon rattled off the week’s upcoming guests, who will include Tina Fey and Cameron Diaz.

Meanwhile, Craig Ferguson was over on CBS as loose as a goose, referring to himself winkily as “the Scottish Conan guy” and getting Paris Hilton to talk about her (as Ferguson called them) “farty dogs.”

Since even Ferguson has implored people not to judge Fallon by his first few shows, I’ll conclude with something positive. I like the way Fallon turns to the Roots and says, “?uestlove, give me a little noise.” Maybe pretty soon, he’ll relax a bit and make some spontaneous, amusing noise himself.

What did you think? Will you keeping watching Fallon?

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