There seemed to be a lot of hand-wringing about Brian Williams hosting Saturday Night Live. As if by appearing he would forfeit any right to ever be taken seriously again. Media critics, get a grip! If John McCain could host the show and go on to run for President, surely Williams, who just talks about Presidents, can emerge with his reputation intact. And even seasoned actors without stage experience can look uncomfortable with the demands of live TV. Williams doesn't normally deal with a studio audience, but he does live television for a living and thus may be better prepared for SNL than someone like, say, Scarlett Johansson.

Typically when SNL has a "civilian" host, the writers put few demands on him and let the regular cast carry the show almost totally, but Williams actually got to do some acting: he played a firefighter in one sketch and a surly actor in another. The digital short showed a satirical day in the life of Williams, from firing pennies down at Matt Lauer and Al Roker to dining behind a velvet rope in the NBC cafeteria. All in all, this was a better than average SNL and was a workmanlike effort from the host. (Though, there are differing views on the propriety of Williams's appearance on Newsroom Magazine and the Media Law Prof Blog.)

CBS has found a time slot for their most reliable Emmy winner, The Amazing Race, which premiered its 12th season Sunday night. One of the problems with the race in recent seasons, other than the predictability that's the case with any veteran series, is that it has had very bad luck in keeping its most interesting and likable teams going to the end. But the first leg, which found the 11 new pairs flying from LA to Ireland, was an indication that the show's luck, and ours, may be changing. Any race episode with a prominent role for animals, in this case with donkies, is by definition golden.

The most talked about team in pre-race chatter, the Goths -- Kynt and Vyxsin -- turned out to be surprisingly inoffensive and competent. And the first team eliminated was the coworker team of Ari and Staella. The elimination came after Ari stole another team's cab and generally spent an hour running his yap about how evil he was going to be. Tell it to the concierge at your sequester site. [And Joe]

Elsewhere over the weekend:

Moonlight:
A model died at a shoot that Beth attended: she apparently overdosed on a drug she acquired at a club. Beth discovered a way into the club and found that the drug simulates the vampire experience. Josef asked for Mick's help in tracking down an ancient vampire.

Desperate Housewives:
This was a Halloween episode -- why they ran it a week later than everyone else's, who can guess? Danielle's "costume" at Bob and Lee's party was her mother Bree, and unlike Bree she didn't have to wear padding to appear pregnant. But she ended up going into labor at the party and gave birth to a son, which she gave up to Bree. Lynette killed a possum and received good news about her cancer. Edie showed Victor the compromising pictures of Gabrielle and Carlos.

Tell Me You Love Me:
David and Katie aired their disagreements about another baby out in the open. David saw May alone as Katie ditched therapy and decided to apply for a full-time job practically on a whim. Carolyn's work performance is suffering, and Palek is still not reconciled to their baby. After saying he was no longer happy, Palek told Carolyn he wants out of their relationship while they are in a therapy session. Jamie's scruffy boyfriend Ian Somerhalder suspects she doesn't really love him -- he's a smart boy. [Back in Skinny Jeans]

Dexter:
Everyone is mad at the poor guy. Dexter worried about what he saw as Lundy's suspicion about him. Doakes confronted Dexter when he found out he was misled. Rita was also upset with him because she thinks Dexter is cheating on her. It's tough world out there for a serial killer.

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