In the 50th season premiere of “Saturday Night Live,” not much was made about the fact that it was 50 historic years, aside from a few mentions in the monologue and at the top of “Weekend Update.” But that’s okay, the show will have a big party in February with a three-hour special. For this first new episode with guest host Jean Smart (quite a legend himself), it felt like the series had done just that a lot of to reach, and barely enough time with only 90 minutes to discuss everything that happened over the summer or even the last two weeks.

Moo Deng, Eric Adams, the Harris-Trump debate, the summer of Chappell Roan and Charli XCX, North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson: the show had it all. And it had a game host in Smart, a recent Emmy winner for “Hacks”which is always great, but wasn’t especially served with the kind of home run skits you’d expect from someone her stature for a big season opener.

Something about the pacing of some sketches didn’t match Smart’s crackerjack skill at one-liners (razor-sharp in “Hacks”), such as a scene about a romance writer who spiced up a math book for children. Don’t put Smart on your show and then saddle her with reading long stretches of text from a book in front of her. She didn’t get much to do in the debut of a Charli XCX show called “The Talk Talk Show”, hosted by Bowen Yang (as XCX), where she used a thick German accent to play a fashion icon. And in an end-of-episode closer about the “Real Housewives of Santa Fe”, the sketch was more about steaming fajitas than the housewives depicted.

Much better was a parody of a CNN documentary about ‘I Love Lucy’ in which Smart played a dramatic actress who took on the title role before Lucille Ball was cast (with Marcello Hernandez as Desi Arnaz), and a parody of the ‘$100,000 pyramid’ with Smart as Tonia Haddix (with a monkey doll) from ‘Chimp Crazy’.

It was the kind of week where the regular skits took a back seat for a very strong cold open and a “Weekend Update” with a whole summer’s worth of strange news to enjoy. It was also a week with a new set of opening titles and the introduction of three new cast members (but you didn’t see much of it in this episode), after Chloe Troast’s departure, Punky Johnson and Molly Kearney.

Musical guest Jelly Roll, introduced by Smart and “Hacks” co-star Hannah Einbinder (the daughter of original “SNL” cast member Laraine Newman), played “Liar.” He returned later in the show with “Winning streak.” A title card was honored for the final hugs Tom McCarthya former head of security at NBC who died in July. He was once involved in a Secret Service investigation into material that comedian John Mulaney performed on the show.

You could say that 13 minutes is way too long for an ‘SNL’ cold open, but this one was packed with so many jokes and so many walk-on guests doing spot-on impersonations – after a summer full of speculation of who would play which politician – that it would never last too long.

After a brief introduction by the self-consciously handsome David Muir (Andrew Dismukes), Maya Rudolph returned as presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris, now with a whole new set of tricks, including the signature laugh, the obligatory “fell out of a coconut.” tree” reference, some dance moves and great lines, like comparing her campaign to Sabrina Carpenter’s hit “Espresso”: “The lyrics are vague, but the vibe hits,” she said.

Then came the guest stars. As some expected, Jim Gaffigan was a perfect Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota and Harris’s running mate, who captured the voice and Midwesternism (“I haven’t been this excited since I got 10 percent off a leaf blower at Menarden!”). Andy Samberg was goofy and playful as Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, who joked that as First Gentleman he will decorate the White House for Christmas with the “Hanukkah” theme.

James Austin Johnson continued in the role of former President Trump, this time behind bulletproof glass and riffing on Sean “Diddy” Combs (“They take your pets and do crazy things… they do a Diddy.”), joined by Bowen Yang as running mate JD Vance.

But the real surprise was Dana Carvey returning to “SNL.” once more make an indelible impression of a politician during election season. He played President Biden, an impression he perfected on his podcast with David Spade, and which turned out so well that you wonder why this in-the-bag performance wasn’t on the show four years ago. “And guess what, and the fact is, no joke, I’m serious now,” Carvey said as Biden, and it was perfect.

Smart’s monologue contained few jokes (but they were good ones) and a lot of atmosphere. She sang a version of Judy Garland’s ‘I happen to love New York,” interspersed with commentary about how she started her career in the city around the same time “SNL” started in 1975. She said she mistook the letters for “Saturday Night Laughs.” “Then I watched the show and I thought, ‘That can’t be right.’” Smart joked that she has wanted to do the show ever since, but, “This is the first Saturday that worked with my schedule.” It’s not hard to imagine an alternate timeline with Smart in that original cast and launching her career that way, but let’s just say it worked out pretty well for her anyway.

Best sketch of the night: Spirit Halloween bounces on November 1st

What happens to all the abandoned K-Marts, condemned AutoZones and empty malls across America? For six glorious weeks, it will be Spirit Halloween stores popping up in minutes. In this pre-recorded sketch, contributors Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, and Michael Longfellow discuss how the stores help communities (and otherwise unemployed local perverts), offering wigs that will give you skin rashes, single-use fog machines, and obscurely named costumes to avoid lawsuits. such as “Candy Slave” (Oompa Loompa) and “Fat Yellow Worker” (Minion). “This isn’t Taylor Swift,” a young girl says about a fake costume. “And neither are you,” Fineman tells her. After Halloween, all stores will disappear immediately. Sorry, no refunds.

Also good: let the monkey win “$100,000 Pyramid.”

A well cast piece with Devon Walker as host Michael Strahan, Hernandez as Bad bunnyKenan Thompson as Robinson and Fineman as Hawk Tuah Girl (real name Haliey Welch). The jokes flew quickly about some very naughty activities Robinson has allegedly performed and Haddix (Smart) answered every question regarding monkeys. It went fast and was very funny.

‘Weekend Update’ Winner: Eric Adams Still Has (Too Much) Swagger

The costume and water sprays alone make it tempting to award the prize this week Yang’s hilarious portrayal of the famous baby hippo Moo Dengbut Walker, as embattled New York Mayor Eric Adams, had a lot more meat on his bones than, say, a zookeeper’s ankle. Adams continued to try to get Michael Che involved, even as he declared his innocence and proclaimed his love for the city’s workers: “The dancers, the bottle girls, Fat Joe.” Walker-as-Adams said he enjoys traveling to Turkey, especially given his love for Turkish Delight (a briefcase from Turkey with $100,000 inside).

‘Weekend Update’ Loser: Che’s Tired, Offensive Jokes

It’s an old habit by now that Che is going to throw in a few jokes that are only funny because they’re so lazily offensive that it’s shocking that anyone would tell them on TV in 2024. That should be the joke: Che gets away with such retrograde takes. Among his targets this week: Harris (because he’s a woman who talks and talks), Chinese drivers and Haitians, whom Che joked about, chased the domestic cat that has traveled 800 miles to return home from Yellowstone Park.