There was a real feeling of laziness hovering over the entire second episode of Saturday Night Live's new season, and that doesn't exactly inspire confidence in what's to come over the course of the next 20 shows. On the one hand, we got to see more of the cast than we usually do (new member Nasim Pedrad showed up a bunch, and Kristen Wiig didn't appear as the center of every sketch); on the other, they didn't have a whole lot to do.


I get worried when a show this early is this uninspired, because at least some of this material had to be what the writers had weeks to come up with.

Host Ryan Reynolds is a solid comic actor, so it makes sense that this episode found almost nothing for him to do. Not only did they fail to give him a single funny character to play, but also avoided using him at all in multiple sketches. He performed what he had with admirable aplomb, but I actually watched the episode feeling bad for him; this couldn't be what he had in mind when he dreamed about one day hosting Saturday Night Live.

I'm on record as hating "Deep House Dish," and this week's installment did little to change my opinion. I'll admit that I perked up a little when I realized that the show could very well incorporate musical guest Lady GaGa into the sketch, but then they did just that and it was a total letdown. GaGa appeared alongside surprise guest Madonna (or something that used to be Madonna), which should have been a really exciting stunt.

It wasn't. It was awkward, and felt either totally made up or woefully underrehearsed. Despite a desperate-to-be-talked-about near-kiss between the two pop stars (which, like a lot of other things, was ruined by Kenan Thompson), this sketch couldn't end fast enough.

Another sketch, a Family Feud parody in which the Osmond Family competed against Papa John, Mackenzie Phillips et. al., felt particularly tasteless in light of the recent statements made about the relationship between Phillips and his daughter. I'm a fan of dark comedy, but there's something off-puttingly icky about making jokes about incest and rape. I've seen SNL be unfunny plenty of times, but rarely have they been this tone deaf about what might be funny. I was waiting for a sketch about Roman Polanski committing rape shortly after; luckily, that was the punchline to "Family Feud." Way to go, SNL. (Watch "Family Feud" video)

Oh, and here's something you may not have realized. Apparently long-time (like, loooong time) cast member Darrell Hammond has left the show. You'd never know it, because I think he's appeared in every episode of both SNL and Weekend Update Thursday, but he's no longer in the opening credits and during the "goodnights" was thanked by Ryan Reynolds along with the rest of the special guests. Bringing him on to do his impression of Arnold Schwarzenegger during "Weekend Update" may not be the best use of his talent, particularly now that there's a limit to how much we'll see him. The show will definitely take a hit in the celebrity impressions department; Hammond did just about everyone. (Watch "Weekend Update: Governor Schwarzenegger" video)

Other Sketch Highlights

• "Cold Open: Obama Address" - Well, it looks like SNL has finally found its angle to goof on President Obama -- for now, anyway. The joke is that Obama hasn't accomplished anything, and while I wish I could say it was offbase I'm afraid the sketch played fair. It didn't, however, play very funny; I'm all for goofing on the president (he's got it coming as much as any of us), but there was something that felt lazy about this one-joke opener. (Watch "Cold Open: Obama Address" video)
• "Digital Short: On the Ground" - Another season, another hit-or-miss run of Digital Shorts. I think these have a greater capacity to disappoint, if only because they are occasionally so inspired that we forget how many are, well, forgettable. This was one of the forgettable ones, with Andy Samberg and the Lonely Island crew indulging too heavily in their passion for where the banal meets the absurd. The requisite celebrity cameos have lost some of their excitement, too, because now we know they're coming. (Watch "Digital Short: On the Ground" video)
• "Porcelain Fountains" - I liked this throwaway sketch when SNL first did it back when Scarlett Johansson hosted (that time, the commercial was for chandeliers). Tonight, it felt like little more than an excuse to trot out Johansson -- who's married to host Ryan Reynolds -- one more time. Short and not terrible (Johansson's repetition of "This one" can be funny), but not much more. (Watch "Porcelain Fountains" video)
• "Andy Backstage" - A weak late-shot sketch in which Andy Samberg is embarrassed because he and Lada GaGa are dressed in the same outfit. And she wears clothes that are crazy! Another sketch that failed to use host Reynolds; it felt like a throwaway, and the fact that it closed the show is a good indication of how half-assed the entire episode felt. It's too early in the season to be phoning it in. (Watch "Andy Backstage" video)
• "Norwegian Actors" - I'll admit to laughing at this sketch, but only for Fred Armisen's inspired line readings. Everyone else is fine, but doing the standard funny-accent stuff; Armisen, who you can really see and hear adopting another accent and then trying to do an "American" accent on top of that -- is on another level altogether (Watch "Norwegian Actors Playhouse" video)
• "Court TV Show" - A mess with an ok idea at the center, where dance shows are combined with court shows. It's fun to see the cast members dance, and Ryan Reynolds really does commit to his Australian choreographer character. Will Forte's leer at Nasim Pedrad made me laugh, but that was it. Possibly the worst sketch of the night. (Watch "Court TV Show" video)

• Original Air Date: 10/3/09
• Host: Ryan Reynolds
• Musical Guest: Lady GaGa