Saturday Night … Lite? Politics cast a dark shadow over the iconic show

The second show of “Saturday Night Live’s” 51st season aired Saturday night. And, just like the first episode, it was a tad disappointing.

Humor is subjective, and “SNL” can be polarizing. Admittedly, I’m a big “SNL” fan and usually give the show the benefit of the doubt, but both shows this season have been underwhelming.

This past weekend’s episode two was stronger than the season premiere hosted by Bad Bunny, but it was still a bit disheartening considering the host was Amy Poehler, a former “SNL” star.

To be clear, the shows haven’t been awful. They’ve just been OK, even though Poehler was good and energetic as host, and there were a couple of laugh-out-loud moments. (The Atlantic’s Michael Tedder was complimentary in his piece, “Amy Poehler Understood the Assignment.”)

But, overall, it has been an uneven start for “SNL.”

I think I know part of the problem.

Both episodes, like most “SNL” shows, had cold openings based on the past week in politics. This past week, for instance, had Poehler playing Attorney General Pam Bondi and Tina Fey, in a special guest appearance, playing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

The issue is that the news is so depressing these days that the sketches don’t even seem like parodies. For example, Poehler played a defiant and rude Bondi from her recent Senate hearing. Was it over-the-top? Of course. But not by a lot.

In the sketch, Poehler, as Bondi, started by telling senators, “What’s up, nerds? Furious to be here.”

When asked if she would swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, Poehler said, “No.” Then she said her name was Bondi and it was spelled with an “I” because “I ain’t gonna answer any questions.”