SNL Election 2012 Special: Debate Was Meh, But this is How Jon Stewart Makes Up for It

What just happened? I had settled in for 30 minutes of hilarity via the Saturday Night Live Primetime Election Special and instead I got a stale sketches, way too much "Drunken Uncle" humor, and zero Jay Pharoah. The only political television saving grace tonight is that Bill Clinton will be on The Daily Show tonight. Thank God. 

Quite frankly I thought SNL did not deliver. They had the gift of time, primetime, and they did not use it. Seth Meyers was as charming and amusing as he always is, but if they were on the hunt for new viewers with this primetime slot then I fear they turned away more eyeballs than they got. 

I will say, Jason Sudeikis held down the fort and I think we will see him emerging as this season's SNL anchor-man (no Will Ferrell joke intended.) Like Ferrell, Kristen Wiig, and Adam Sandler before him, Sudeikis will be the guy that this season is built around. 

As for the rest of the cast, this 30 minutes felt underwritten: not enough jokes, not nearly enough presidential humor, and a weird hodge-podge of pop references that didn't drive home any real political point. Jay Pharoah was nowhere to be found, and I can only hope that he is in rehearsals for this Saturday night's episode. 

For those as bummed as I was about their SNL experience there is a glimmer of hope on Thursday night's line-up which is the fact that Bill Clinton will be joining Jon Stewart for an interview on The Daily Show. 

As for what Stewart and Clinton will discuss I expect a lot of Obama pitching, and Clinton charming. And I would even venture to say that their will be more laughs than there were on the SNL stage. 

So we have pros and cons: a sorry SNL state, but the hope and humor of Stewart.