45x01 Woody Harrelson and Billie Eilish

[6.8/10] Well, that wasn’t the most auspicious start to the new season, but there was some stuff worth hanging onto.

In terms of politics, the opening Trump sketch was just a greatest hits of the show’s tired shtick on that end. I get that Trump’s so laughable in reality that he’s hard to make fun of, but I wish the show would find a new angle on him. The democratic debate sketch was a real winner though, with Larry David shining as usual in reprising Bernie Sanders, and Maya Rudolph stealing the show as Kamala Harris. The “nothing’s gonna happen” sketch had real teeth for once, though it was depressing. And Weekend Update’s political bits were solid, plus some winning, gasp-inducing material on top of that, though I could do without yet another David Ortiz appearance at the desk.

The rest of the episode was hit or miss. The show’s loonier sketches, like the take down of appel-picking and the world’s biggest cheeto sketch, were out there but a lot of fun. That said, I don’t know what demon Kyle Mooney sold his soul to, because he’s never been funny on SNL, and he certainly didn’t start now with his execrable “Dad on the phone” sketch.

The “coach’s girlfriend” skit was dead on arrival, and the Downton Abbey skit was low-hanging fruit. The monologue was also a giant waste, as Harrelson felt surprisingly awkward for a comic actor, and his fashionista/gaffe machine premise got nothing out of me laugh-wise. Honestly, Harrelson was kind of a dud out there, barely rising above competent in any of his sketches, which was surprising.

Overall, a fairly cold start to the season, but there’s room to improve.